Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong left Hanoi in the morning of July 20 for a State visit to Cambodia from July 20-22 at the invitation of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

Trong’s entourage include Pham Minh Chinh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Organisation; Pham Binh Minh, Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the Vietnam sub-committee of the Vietnam-Cambodia Cooperation Committee; Nguyen Thien Nhan, Politburo member and Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; and Uong Chu Luu, Party Central Committee member, National Assembly Vice Chairman and chairman of the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship parliamentary group. 

The visit, the second state-level visit to the neighbouring nation by the Party leader, will be made on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties (June 24) and in the context of sound overall relations. It aims to promote trust between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and speed up the implementation of agreements signed between the two nations.

The visit is also expected to create favourable conditions for the two sides to address existing problems in their relations, bringing relations to a deeper and more sustainable level.

Despite complex regional and global developments in recent years, Vietnam and Cambodia have still enjoyed fruitful relations, contributing to the building of a peaceful and stable environment for stronger socio-economic development and ensuring the independence and sovereignty of each nation.

The two sides have maintained and effectively promoted bilateral cooperation mechanisms while increasing the exchange of visits and meetings between their senior leaders. Vietnam and Cambodia exchanged 150 delegations of all levels in 2016 and in the first half of 2017. Various cooperation agreements have been inked, creating a base to branch out relations between the two nations. 

Economic collaboration has been a catalyst to promote the two peoples’ solidarity and friendship. Vietnam has 183 investment projects with total registered capital of 2.8 billion USD in Cambodia. Projects in telecommunications, aviation and agriculture have proved efficient. The two countries have seen an increase in bilateral trade which has averaged 3 billion USD per year in the last five years.

VNA