Phnom Penh (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha co-chaired the 13th Conference on Cooperation and Development between Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces in Phnom Penh on November 27-28.
The event drew the presence of leaders from nine ministries and sectors, 10 cities and provinces, and three military regions.
Both sides expressed delight at the strong progress in Vietnam – Cambodia ties in recent years. Political and diplomatic ties have been continously reinforced, while economic, trade, and investment relations have grown positively, particularly among the provinces along the shared border.
Two-way trade has averaged 10 billion USD annually over the past four years and reached 9.5 billion USD in the first ten months of 2025, up more than 13.5% from a year earlier. Cross-border collaboration in education, health care, labour, transportation and livelihood support has been ramped up, delivering tangible benefits to residents.
Sar Sokha asked delegates to thoroughly grasp and closely work on the orientations and concrete measures adopted at the conference. These efforts, he stressed, will enhance the quality and effectiveness of cooperation among the border provinces, safeguard political security and social order, improve local livelihoods, and build a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.
Concluding the conference, the two sides issued a joint press communiqué affirming their candid exchange of views and shared determination to preserve and advance relations and cooperation between the border provinces of Vietnam and Cambodia, in line with the motto of “friendly neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability”. They also reiterated their commitment to the continued building and maintenance of the Vietnam – Cambodia border as a boundary of peace, friendship, cooperation, and sustainable development.
The conference commended the achievements made in implementing the outcomes of the 12th Conference on Cooperation and Development between Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces, held in Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province from April 23 to 25, 2023.
Both sides noted the positive relations and effective cooperation between the administrations and functional forces of the countries' border provinces in recent years, which have helped safeguard security, public order, and stability along the shared border. These efforts have also supported socio-economic development and contributed to improved living conditions for border residents.
The conference underscored the need to continue strengthening cooperation across a wide range of key sectors, including national defence, security, public order, and social safety; cross-border trade; investment and border gate management; cross-border transport, infrastructure development and connectivity; land border demarcation and marker planting; agriculture, health care, energy, environment, and water resources; tourism, information, law, justice, and banking; local-level administrative management; and cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties.
Delegates agreed to encourage the border provinces' administrations to continue meeting at least once a year to review the progress and results of cooperation activities, address new challenges, and outline future directions, with a view to further enhancing cooperation and promoting development in the border localities.
The two sides also agreed to convene the 14th conference in Vietnam in 2026. The specific time and venue will be arranged through the diplomatic channel./.
