Phnom Penh (VNA) – The friendship and cooperativerelations between Cambodia and Vietnam have been developing remarkably in thepast time, Prime Minister Hun Sen said at a reception in Phnom Penh onSeptember 21 for outgoing Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Thach Du.

PM Hun Sen hoped that bilateral trade will increase to 5billion USD in the near future from the current level of 3 billion USD, whilethe number of Vietnamese tourists to Cambodia will continue increasing.

The PM also hailed the effective cooperation between Cambodianand Vietnamese ministries and localities, especially those along the sharedborder, adding that people-to-people exchanges, including cooperativeactivities of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association and Vietnam-CambodiaFriendship Association, have significantly contributed to increasing mutualunderstanding.

He thanked Vietnam for annually providing scholarships forCambodian students and described Vietnam as one of the important destinationswhich have helped Cambodia train high-qualification human resources.

The PM spoke highly of the ambassador’s contributions toreinforcing and developing the friendship and solidarity between Cambodia andVietnam during his tenure of office.

He took this occasion to thank the VietnameseParty, Government, Army and people for helping the Cambodian people escape fromthe genocidal regime, noting that without the prompt and valuable assistance ofVietnam, the situation would have worsened and more millions of Cambodianpeople would be killed.

For his part, Du expressed his pleasure at the growing friendshipand cooperative ties between Vietnam and Cambodia over the past few years,saying the exchange of delegations, especially visits by senior officials, havecreated a new momentum to drive the bilateral relations forward.

He thanked PM Hun Sen and leaders of Cambodian ministries anddepartments for creating favourable conditions for him to fulfil his missions,contributing to the reinforcement and development of the good neighbourliness,traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability.

Vietnam will continue giving priority to developing thefriendship and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia, he affirmed.
Earlier, the ambassador bid farewell to Acting Head of Stateof Cambodia and President of the Senate Say Chhum; Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection, President of theCambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association Men Saman; and Senior Minister ofForeign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.

The ambassador is scheduled to bid farewell to Cambodian KingNorodom Sihamoni and President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin in thecoming days.-VNA