The two sides reached the deals after the talks between Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and Cambodian Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek 

in Phnom Penh on March 14. 

During his working visit to Cambodia from March 13-16, Hung informed his the Cambodian minister about the development of Vietnam’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector. 

According to the Vietnamese minister, Vietnam is focusing on developing logistics to promote e-commerce and telecom infrastructure as foundations for digital economic development; testing 5G mobile network; developing e-Government and smart cities; monitoring cyberspace and ensuring cyber security for government agencies and key information infrastructure facilities; and developing a digital ecosystem. 

For his part, Tram Iv Tek said as part of efforts to promote Cambodia's quadrangle development strategy, the government has paid attention to promoting high-speed internet connectivity, developing e-Government from central to grassroots levels and opening postal services to communes.

In the recent past, Cambodia's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has issued several documents and decrees on ICT management, he said, expressing his hope that Vietnam will help his country develop postal services and support Cambodia in building infrastructure to prevent cyber attacks.

Following the talks, representatives from the two ministries and enterprises of the two countries signed a cooperation plan between Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications and the MPT, a deal between Vietnam’s Information Security Department and Cambodia’s ICT Department and a pact on digital signatures between Vietnam’s BKAV Group and the MPT.

Under the agreements, the Vietnamese side will enhance postal cooperation with Cambodia by opening post offices at border gates to develop cross-border and express mail delivery services and postal financial services.

The two sides will continue negotiations on division of frequency use for new generation broadband mobile communication systems; research and deploy network transfer to keep numbers; and television digitalisation. 

Vietnam will help Cambodia build a cyber security monitoring centre and provide three full scholarships worth 27,000 USD each for Cambodian students to pursue study at the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology. 

Hung asked the MPT to continue supporting Vietnamese IT enterprises as Viettel, VNPT, FPT and VNPost to invest and do business in Cambodia, especially in IT projects in sate and government agencies.–VNA