Cambodia - Vietnam Joint Statement: Bringing bilateral cooperation increasingly deeper, more substantial and more effective

The two Prime Ministers reviewed the Cambodian Army's Guard of Honor. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Government Portal respectfully introduces the full text of the Joint Statement between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the occasion of the official visit of Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh to the Kingdom of Cambodia:

1.At the invitation of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, His Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam led a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia from November 8 to 9, 2022.

During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid a courtesy call to King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk; met with President of the Senate Samdech Vibol Sena Pheakdei Say Chhum and President of the National Assembly Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin; and received Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An, President of the Cambodia - Vietnam Friendship Association. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh laid wreaths at the Independence Monument, the Monument of King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk "Preah Borom Ratanak Kaudh", the late King of Cambodia, the Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Monument and visited a number of Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen also attended and delivered a speech at the Vietnam - Cambodia Investment and Trade Promotion Forum 2022.

2.Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also held talks with Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen. The two sides emphasized the significance of Mr. Pham Minh Chinh's first official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia in his capacity as Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the joyful atmosphere of the "Vietnam - Cambodia, Cambodia - Vietnam Friendship Year 2022" to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In an atmosphere of friendship, understanding and mutual trust, the two leaders informed each other of the current situation in their respective countries and had in-depth discussions on areas of bilateral cooperation as well as international and regional issues of mutual concern.

3.Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and other Cambodian leaders welcomed the great achievements that Vietnam has made in national construction, innovation and development, as well as the impressive results in preventing and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and recovering and developing the economy and society after the pandemic. Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen wished the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and make important strides towards the goal of turning Vietnam into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 and a high-income industrialized country by 2045.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the important achievements that the Cambodian Government and people have made under the wise reign of His Majesty the King of Cambodia and the wise leadership of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen in the cause of national development, especially the rapid control of the COVID-19 pandemic and the promotion of socio-economic recovery. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated the Cambodian leaders on the successful organization of commune and ward elections in June 2022 and wished Cambodia a successful general election in 2023, as well as the goal of turning Cambodia into an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.

4.With the desire to further promote bilateral relations under the motto"Good neighbors, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and sustainable stability", the two countries' leaders agreed to continue to fully comply with the principles stated in the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Statements in 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021; respect each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, not interfere in each other's internal affairs and resolve all issues arising between the two countries by peaceful means.

5.The leaders of the two countries welcomed the successful organization of many meaningful activities during the "Cambodia - Vietnam, Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Year 2022", most notably the 45th Anniversary of Samdech Techo Hun Sen's Journey to Overthrow the Pol Pot Genocide Regime co-chaired by the two Prime Ministers in Binh Phuoc Province and Tbong Khmum Province on June 20, 2022 and the 55th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Vietnam and Cambodia on June 24, 2022 in Hanoi.

6.The Cambodian side expressed sincere gratitude for the sacrifices of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and people in liberating Cambodia from the genocidal regime of Democratic Kampuchea in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as for Vietnam's support for the country's construction and development. The Vietnamese side also sincerely thanked the Cambodian people for their sacrifices in the struggle for national independence and reunification in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as Cambodia's support for the country's construction and development. In that spirit, the two sides stressed the importance of promoting and strengthening the spirit of traditional friendship, good neighborliness, solidarity, trust and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

7.The two sides expressed satisfaction with the effective development of the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship and comprehensive cooperation in recent years, helping to bring substantial benefits to the people of the two countries. Overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the political relationship between the two countries has been continuously strengthened through high-level delegation exchanges on all channels and regular discussions in various forms, while effectively promoting bilateral cooperation mechanisms. The two sides affirmed their determination to further consolidate and develop the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship, bringing bilateral cooperation increasingly deeper, more substantial and effective; considering it an inevitable objective requirement for both countries. In addition to maintaining regular visits and contacts at all levels, the two sides agreed to hold the 20th Meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the first quarter of 2023 and the 12th Conference on Cooperation and Development of Vietnam-Cambodia Border Provinces at a time suitable for both sides in Vietnam in 2023.

8.The two sides are determined to further strengthen economic cooperation, contributing to supporting each other in building an independent and self-reliant economy, while ensuring deep and effective international integration. The two sides stressed the need to strengthen the connection between the two economies in terms of hard infrastructure as well as institutions and policies, including promoting the early completion of the Master Plan on Connecting the Two Economies of Vietnam and Cambodia to 2030.

Encouraged by the strong growth of trade turnover between the two countries recently in a more balanced and complementary direction, the two sides pledged to promote and further facilitate bilateral trade, especially border trade, through the effective implementation of the newly signed Border Trade Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding on the development and connection of border trade infrastructure. On that basis, the two sides agreed to further strengthen economic cooperation between border provinces. The two sides also pledged to continuously promote the linkage of supply chains and production between the two countries through the signing and implementation of agreements between the two governments on the accumulation of origin of raw materials and bicycle parts to enjoy GSP tax of the European Union and the United Kingdom. Affirming the importance of creating a favorable environment, giving more priority to two-way investment and trade and improving business efficiency, the two sides agreed to create more effective favorable conditions for investors and businesses from one country to operate in the other, as well as ensuring effective implementation of the Agreement on Encouragement and Protection of Investment and the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation.

9.The two sides agreed to strengthen defense and security cooperation based on the principle of not allowing any hostile force to use their territory to harm the security and interests of the other country. The two sides reaffirmed that they will closely coordinate to effectively implement the agreements in force and existing defense and security cooperation mechanisms to enhance coordination in maintaining political stability, security, order and social safety in each country, as well as improve the effectiveness of border management and protection. The two sides emphasized the importance of cooperation in citizen protection in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963; coordination in preventing cross-border crimes such as human trafficking, drug trafficking and smuggling; and cooperation in ensuring cyber security. The two sides also agreed to continue joint efforts to search for, collect and repatriate the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia, and to speed up the repatriation of the remains of soldiers of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation from Vietnam to Cambodia in the spirit of the technical working group meeting between the two countries on October 28, 2022 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

10.The two sides expressed satisfaction with the completion of the demarcation work of about 84% of the land border and commended the current efforts of the Vietnam-Cambodia and Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Border Committees (JBC) in finding mutually acceptable solutions for the remaining 16% of the work in accordance with all border treaties signed between the two countries to build a peaceful, stable and cooperative land border between Vietnam and Cambodia. The two sides agreed to sign an agreement on land border gates between the two countries in the near future to replace relevant regulations in the 1983 Agreement on Border Regulations. The two sides also agreed to promote the efficiency of the border gate system, including through the opening and upgrading of border gates agreed upon by the two countries and adding the Tan Nam - Meun Chey international border gate pair to the List of border gates permitted for goods transit under the Agreement on Goods Transit between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Cambodia signed in 2013.

11.The two sides also agreed to promote and enhance the effectiveness of cooperation in other important areas such as law and justice, labor and social affairs, science and technology, information and communication, development of renewable energy sources, smart agriculture, education and training, healthcare, cultural exchange, tourism, sports, transportation, finance and banking, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, law enforcement at sea and other areas of cooperation.

12.Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed and appreciated the Kingdom of Cambodia for always supporting and not discriminating against people of Vietnamese origin living in Cambodia over the years.

13.The two sides discussed and agreed to continue to further strengthen close and effective cooperation and coordination within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and ASEAN to address global and regional challenges, as well as sub-regional forums, including other Mekong cooperation mechanisms, to ensure effective, inclusive and sustainable development, management, use and conservation of Mekong River water resources and other related resources. Reaffirming Vietnam's active and effective support for Cambodia during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2022 with the theme "ASEAN in Action: Responding to Challenges Together", Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the great efforts and substantive results that Cambodia has achieved so far in ASEAN 2022. The Prime Minister emphasized his full confidence in the success of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related Summits to be held under the chairmanship of Cambodia in Phnom Penh from November 10 to 13, 2022, contributing to promoting ASEAN's central role, unity, solidarity and self-reliance in the face of emerging challenges and threats, for peace, stability, sustainable development and prosperity in the region and the world. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that Vietnam is ready to support Cambodia and Laos in enhancing cooperation in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV DTA) and accelerating the implementation of the Action Plan for Connecting the Three CLV Economies by 2030 to jointly build cohesive, sustainable and prosperous CLV economies, contributing to the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

14.The two sides continued to affirm ASEAN's common stance on the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, promoting dialogue, enhancing trust, self-restraint, resolving disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), not threatening or using force, ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and working towards the early completion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

15.During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents, specifically: (i) Memorandum of Understanding on the types and quantity of commercial vehicles for the implementation of the Agreement and Protocol on Road Transport; (ii) Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Agricultural Sector; (iii) Border Trade Agreement; (iv) Agreement on Administrative Cooperation within the framework of Article 56(1)(a) of Regulation 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation No. 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on detailed rules implementing certain provisions of the Customs Law of the European Union on bicycle components and spare parts; (v) Agreement on Administrative Cooperation pursuant to Section 18(3)(B) of the Customs Regulation 2020 (Origin of Dutiable Goods: Preferential Trade Program); (vi) Cooperation agreement on radio and television cooperation for the period 2022-2025; (vii) Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the fields of post, telecommunications, information technology and digital transformation; (viii) Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation between the Ethnic Committee of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Cults and Religions of the Kingdom of Cambodia; (ix) Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of labor; (x) Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of financial innovation and payment systems; (xi) Memorandum of Understanding between Viettel Cambodia Company and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia. On this occasion, businesses of the two countries also signed a number of business contracts and cooperation agreements.

16.Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his gratitude to Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, the leaders and people of Cambodia for the warm welcome given to the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully invited Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen to pay an official visit to Vietnam at the earliest possible time. Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen thanked him and happily accepted the invitation. The specific time of the visit will be arranged through diplomatic channels by the relevant agencies at an appropriate time./.

Phnom Penh, day 09November 2022.