A meeting between Vietnamese and Cambodian businesses was held in Phnom Penh on Dec. 23 by the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade and the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province.

The event is to connect Vietnamese firms, including those in the southern province of Dong Nai, with Cambodian partners for trade and business collaborations.

Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Province People’s Committee Ao Van Thinh emphasised his province’s advantages including favourable geography for industrial and trade development such as National Highway 1A, the Saigon port and the Tan Son Nhat international airport.

Dong Nai’s industries that include rubber and wood processing, electricity, electronics, and apparel maintained growth along with main export products like rubber, coffee, honey, ceramics and cashew nuts, he said.

Trade between Dong Nai province and its Cambodian partners saw a sharp increase in this year with big contracts obtained by Donafoods and Vinacafe Bien Hoa.

In addition, the province cooperated with Cambodia’s Kratie province to supply high-yield cashew strains and provide farming technology.

The Vietnamese province expected to sign memoranda of understanding on provision of farming technology for planting cashew trees with Cambodia’s Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom provinces, Thinh said, adding that Dong Nai province’s businesses will build purchasing and preliminary processing stations in the two provinces.

Vietnam invested in many projects in Cambodia in 2009. In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam ’s total investment in Cambodia reached 400 million USD./.