Over 50 delegates from Vietnamese enterprises operating in Cambodia joined representatives from several localities of Vietnam attended a business forum in Phnom Penh on November 15.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Ngo Anh Dung said the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia has created great opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the country.

In recent years, the Cambodian Government has implemented administrative reforms to attract foreign investors, including those from Vietnam , Dung added.

However, he also noted that the poor infrastructure for economic development in Cambodia also stood in the way of Vietnamese trade.

Therefore, the forum is aiming to provide Vietnam’s enterprises with opportunities to invest in Cambodia with useful information about the country’s business environment. It is also expected to contribute to further promoting economic cooperation between the two countries towards to sustainable development for the mutual interest of their businesses and people.

Vietnam is now one of the world’s leading investors in Cambodia, with its businesses operating in the fields of telecommunications, banking, rubber tree planting and farm product processing.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Cambodia has constantly increased, reaching almost 2.7 billion USD in the first nine months of this year, up 10 percent against the same period last year.

In 2012, Vietnam earned a total of 2.8 billion USD from exporting to Cambodia, while Cambodia obtained about 500 million USD by shipping to the Vietnamese market, lifting total bilateral trade turnover between the two sides to 3.3 billion USD. The figure for the entire 2013 is estimated at 3.5 billion USD.-VNA