Phnom Penh (VNA) – Vietnam andCambodia expect the State visit by Party General Secretary and President ofVietnam Nguyen Phu Trong will help build a new vision for bilateral cooperationtowards 2030 and beyond, said Ambassador Vu Quang Minh.

The remark was made by the Vietnamese diplomatin an interview with the TV channel CNC of Cambodia ahead of the trip fromFebruary 25 to 26.

Minh emphasised this is the first visit toCambodia by Trong since he began serving as both Party General Secretary andPresident of Vietnam. The tour aims to enhance the mutual trust and reiteratethe importance the Vietnamese Party and State attach to “sound neighbourliness,traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability”with Cambodia.

He noted since bilateral diplomatic ties wereset up on June 24, 1967, their relations have weathered all challenges.

This State visit will make importantcontributions to the two sides’ connections, helping to lift their friendshipto a new height, the ambassador added.

Regarding defence-security issues, Minh affirmedthat defence-security cooperation is critically important to the twoneighbouring countries, and it will be one of the priorities of the visit.

The two sides will re-affirm the importance ofcooperation in these fields, the principle of not allowing any military orpolitical forces to use the territory of one side to oppose or threaten thesecurity and territorial integrity of the other, and the commitment toresolving all disputes peacefully.

This is also a basic principle for relationsamong members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), includingVietnam and Cambodia, he said.

In terms of bilateral cooperation in 2020, whenVietnam will hold the ASEAN Chair and Cambodia will host the 13th Asia-EuropeMeeting (ASEM) Summit, Ambassador Minh said the countries’ leaders underlinedthe pledge to coordinate more strongly at regional and international forums topromote each side’s stature and prestige in the global arena.

During the official visit to Vietnam byCambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen from December 6 to 8 last year,the two sides agreed to support each other when Cambodia will host the ASEMSummit and Vietnam will chair ASEAN in 2020.

Minh voiced his belief that 2020 will generatebig opportunities for both countries to shine in the international arena.

Regional and global issues of shared concernlike cooperation within the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) andthe Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area, along with peace and cooperationin the East Sea, will also be under discussion during the visit.

When asked about the settlement of the Vietnameseimmigrants issue, the diplomat said Vietnamese-Cambodians have always receivedattention from leaders and people of Vietnam. Vietnam thanks Cambodia forassisting its expatriates to settle down, improve their living standards andcontribute to local development.

In the visit, leaders of the two countries willlook into measures to ensure the expatriates’ rights and interests, includingtheir legal status, in line with Cambodian law as well as international law andpractices, so that they will be treated equally with other ethnic groups inCambodia, Minh noted.-VNA