Cambodia, Vietnam pledge to boost bilateral cooperation

By：Xinhua Update：2017-03-16

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (R, front) shakes hands with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L, front) during the signing of agreed minutes of their meeting on March 15, 2017 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia and Vietnam pledged on Wednesday to boost their bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially in education, trade, investment, and fighting cross-border crimes. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Vietnam pledged on Wednesday to boost their bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially in education, trade, investment, and fighting cross-border crimes.

The pledge was made between Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and his visiting Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh during the 15th meeting of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission.

"Both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in all areas between the two countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told reporters after the meeting.

In the education sector, Vietnam pledged 1,116 scholarships to Cambodian students and civil servants, he said.

For trade and investment, the two sides vowed to further promote trade development cooperation along the border of the two countries, he said.

Both sides also agreed to increase their cooperation in combating cross-border crimes, especially illicit drugs and illegal smuggling of timber and wild animals, he added.

Prak Sokhonn said at the meeting that Cambodia-Vietnam trade volume was valued at 2.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and the Vietnamese investment in the country was 81 million dollars last year.

At the end of the meeting, the two ministers signed the agreed minutes of the 15th meeting of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission.