President Tran Dai Quang (L) and Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni at the welcome ceremony (Source: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – An official welcome ceremony was held in Phnom Penh on June 15 for President Tran Dai Quang who is on a two-day State visit to Cambodia at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.
The ceremony was followed by a meeting between the Vietnamese State leader and the King.
The same day, the President and his spouse laid wreaths at the Independence Monument, the statue of the late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and the monument dedicated to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who laid down their lives in the country.
He is scheduled to meet with Senate President Samdech Say Chhum, President of the National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrim and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the day.
President Tran Dai Quang’s State visit aims to affirm the importance Vietnam attaches to the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia as well as the country’s wish to continue working together with the neighbour to consolidate and further develop the bilateral relationship in line with the motto of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation” for the sake of their people and for peace, stability, cooperation and development.
Vietnam has been Cambodia’s third largest trade partner with two-way trade reaching 3.37 billion USD in 2015 and 944.6 million USD in the first quarter of this year. The two countries are striving for 5 billion USD in bilateral trade in the coming time.
Cambodia is Vietnam’s 16th largest export market with steel, fertilizer, garments, equipment and machinery, plastics making up a major proportion.
Vietnamese investments have been present at 16 out of 25 Cambodian cities and provinces. By May 2016, Vietnam ranked fifth among 50 countries and territories investing in Cambodia with 172 projects, mostly in agro-forestry, energy, finance-banking-insurance, post and telecommunications, healthcare and construction, among others.-VNA
