Chairwoman of Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (left) and President of Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin at a meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on January 15, 2019

The visit is made at the invitation of Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the Vietnamese legislature’s Committee for External Relations has announced.

Vietnam and Cambodia established diplomatic relations on June 24, 1967. The two neighbouring countries stood side by side during past struggles against colonialists and the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, and have supported each other in national construction and defence.

Both countries have pursued a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance and multilateralisation and diversification of relations.

Bilateral economic and trade ties have made big strides. With 210 projects valued at more than 3 billion USD, Vietnam has become one of the five biggest investors in Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Cambodia has run 19 projects worth 63.42 million USD in Vietnam, focusing on agriculture, forestry, fishery and commerce.

Two-way trade stood at 4.68 billion USD in 2018, up 23.76 percent against 2017. Of the amount, Vietnam’s exports were valued at 3.74 billion USD, up 34.98 percent and imports were worth about 963 million USD, up 6.46 percent year-on-year. Bilateral trade is expected to reach 5 billion USD by 2020. -VNA