The following is the full joint communiqué of the 8th meeting on cooperation and development between border provinces of Viet Nam and Cambodia.
1. As agreed by the 7th Meeting on Cooperation and Development Between Border Provinces of Cambodia and Viet Nam in Ho Chi Minh City, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam from 8th – 9th March 2012, the 8th Meeting on Cooperation and Development Between Border Provinces of Cambodia and Viet Nam was held on 27th-28th October 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, under the co-chairmanship of H.E. Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The meeting was also attended by representatives from a number of relevant ministries and agencies as well as leaders of border provinces of both countries.
2. The 8th meeting took place in a solemn and cordial atmosphere of fraternal friendship and mutual understanding. Both sides agreed on a common perception of the importance of the cooperation between border provinces of Viet Nam and Cambodia that had significantly contributed to consolidating and strengthening the traditional friendship and solidarity between the two countries. Both sides expressed satisfaction and desire to further maintain the relationship of “friendly neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-lasting stability” between the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Kingdom of Cambodia. The two countries also agreed to make greater efforts in developing and protecting a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development in the benefits of the two countries and peoples.
3. The two sides highly valued the exchange of high-level visits since the 7th Meeting, including the State visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni from 24th – 26th September 2012 and the visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni from 19th – 22nd October 2015; the official visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia from 26th – 28th December 2013, attended the 2nd Mekong River Commission Summit in Ho Chi Minh City held from 04th – 05th April 2014; the official visit to Viet Nam by President of Cambodia’s National Assembly Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin from 20th – 25th July 2012, and attended the Viet Nam – Cambodia Legislative Friendship Conference in Ho Chi Minh City of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam held from 22nd – 25th August 2012 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1967-2012), the Friendship Year 2012, and also attended the funeral of General Vo Nguyen Giap in Hanoi in October 2013, paid an official visit to Viet Nam in August 2014, and attended the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union held from 28th March to 2nd April 2015. Visits to Cambodia by Vietnamese leaders included the State visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia by H.E. Truong Tan Sang, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam from 23rd – 24th December 2014. H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam led a high-level delegation representing the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to pay tribute to His Majesty King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Preah Borom Ratanak Kaudh, on 19th October 2012 in Phnom Penh, attended His Majesty cremation ceremony on 04th February 2013, and paid a working visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 12th – 14th January 2014. H.E. Nguyen Sinh Hung, President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam led a high-level delegation representing the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to attend the funeral of Samdech Akka Moha Thomma Pothisal Chea Sim, President of the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia on 10th June 2015.
4. Both sides commended and expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the two countries’ relevant ministries and agencies in their active cooperation in developing a legal framework to continue implementing cooperation mechanisms in their areas, supporting and helping provincial authorities in border areas to achieve remarkable outcomes in line with the directions set forth by the 7th Meeting on Cooperation and Development Between Border Provinces of Cambodia and Viet Nam. Both sides also encouraged and requested their relevant ministries and agencies to further strengthen and intensify more effective cooperation mechanisms in order to support and to meet the demand and to address difficulties of the border provinces in a timely manner and in accordance with their needs.
5. The two sides expressed satisfaction over the continued growth of the bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and investment. From 2012 to 2014, the bilateral trade turnover was US$ 3.34 billion annually reached an average growth of 5.8% per year. For the first 9 months of 2015, Viet Nam's exports to Cambodia reached US$1.851 billion, a decrease of 3.1% compared to the year 2014 in the same period. Cambodia's exports to Viet Nam reached US$ 698 million, an increase of 39% compared to the year 2014 in the same period. The total trade volume between the two countries stood at US$ 2.549 billion, an increase of 5.6% compared to the year 2014 in the same period. According to data provided by the Vietnamese side, by the end of September 2015, Vietnamese businesses invested in 172 projects in Cambodia with a total capital of US$ 3.61 billion, ranking second among 67 countries investing in Cambodia. In the first 9 months of 2015, there has been an increasing number of Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia, of which 05 projects were granted licenses and 06 others adjusted capital, valued at US$ 211 million. A number of projects have been very successful, contributing to the promotion of socio-economic development in Cambodia.
According to data provided by the Cambodian side, to date the Council for Development of Cambodia has properly registered 65 projects invested by Vietnamese businesses with a total capital of US$ 1.726 billion. In the first 9 months of 2015, Cambodia has registered 04 projects and helped adjust capital for 06 other projects valued at US$ 89 million. Both sides showed determination to increase the trade turnover to US$ 5 billion in the coming years. To achieve this goal, the two countries and their border provinces agreed on the directions for promoting trade and investment cooperation as follows:
- Continue to amend legal documents and policies in order to facilitate investment and business in border areas.
- Continue to encourage and facilitate the two countries’ businesses in implementing investment projects on industrial crops and other plants, and in the establishment of on-site production and processing facilities in accordance with the law of each respective country.
- Accelerate the opening of the two countries’ bank branches in border areas to facilitate border trade transactions.
- Continue to promote trade coordination and simplify customs export-import procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary and strengthen cooperation in the prevention and control of fraudulent trade, tax evasion and trade in counterfeit goods across the border.
- Continue to work together to organize trade fairs, trade expos and enhance trade relations between Viet Nam and Cambodia; organize trade promotion programs and business workshops in border provinces.
- Intensify communication and dissemination of the two countries’ policies and laws on economics, trade and investment and its enforcement for enterprises and peoples from both countries.
- Step up implementation of the Master Plan on developing the Viet Nam – Cambodia border market network by 2020 and establish the pilot border market within Thary Special Economic Zone in Da Kandal village, Da commune, Memot district, Tbong Khmum province, as well as, study and develop regulations on market management and economic cooperation zone along the Cambodia-Viet Nam border.
6 – The two sides support border provinces to strengthen cooperation, information exchange with a view to leveling up control over movement of goods, people and vehicles through border check points as officially designated by both sides. Besides, the two sides shall cooperate to prevent passage through the border check points, not yet authorized by the two governments. In addition, to enhance border trade and facilitate the mobility of people and tourists, the two sides agreed to study and consider upgrading a number of border check points and giving priority to open a number of new border check points. The two sides agreed to upgrade the border check points of Tan Nam (in Tay Ninh province) and Moeun Chey (in Prey Veng province) to international border check point when requirements for upgrading are met.
7 – The two sides acknowledged progresses made in public works and transportation cooperation among Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces and highly valued the assistance accorded by Vietnamese provinces to their Cambodian counterparts for construction of roads and bridges crossing the border during the past years. The two sides agreed to work together to facilitate and step up construction of Long Binh – Chrey Thom bridge, the border bridge connecting Kandal province and An Giang province. Construction of this bridge commenced on 14th January 2014 presided over by the Prime Ministers of the two countries. Both sides also agreed to ensure that the construction would be completed as scheduled and up to the required standards, and the bridge would be put into operation in late 2015. The two sides agreed to negotiate the amendments to the Viet Nam – Cambodia Protocol on Road Transportation including the provision on increasing quota for annual commercial vehicles, aiming at removing this quota and putting new pairs of international border check points into operation in line with the Protocol, and work closely to implement the Memorandum of Understanding on road transportation signed on 17th January 2013 within the framework of tripartite cooperation among Viet Nam’s Ministry of Transport, the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The two sides agreed to implement the Greater Mekong Sub-region Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (GMS-CBTA), task the competent authorities from both sides to soon conduct discussion on inspection of the “single window, single stop” mechanism at the international border check points of Moc Bai (Viet Nam) – Ba Vet (Cambodia). The two sides agreed to pay attention to developing infrastructure at the border check points, actively build roads connecting to the border check points and trans-border bridges to serve transportation, trade, tourism and people’s mobility. The two sides agreed to make efforts to promote completion of the master plan on the border transportation network between the two countries and promptly develop the master plan on constructing and connecting transportation networks among border provinces between Viet Nam and Cambodia.
8 – The two sides agreed to consolidate and further strengthen cooperation on agriculture – forestry and fishery via exchange of study visits, experience and information or new know-how to develop agriculture and fisheries, at the same time extend mutual technical support in producing high-quality, high-yield plant varieties and quality animal breeds. The two sides agreed to continue working together to prevent and suppress illegal trans-border trade in timber, forestry product, fishery and wild animals, as well as prevent and combat pests and take protective measures to curb other infectious diseases. The two sides shall work together to prevent and bring under control the illegal logging and illegal fishing in each other’s territory including protection, preservation and development of forests and aquatic species, protection of the environment, forest and aquatic resources in both countries. The two sides shall continue to encourage and facilitate business and investment in agriculture of one country in the other’s territory and agree to find and open market for people’s agricultural products in a reasonable market price. In particular, authorities of Cambodian provinces shall continue to facilitate the investment in planting rubber and other crops by Vietnamese businesses in some Cambodian provinces.
9 – The two sides agreed to implement and ensure the buying and selling electricity in accordance with the capabilities and as previously agreed. The Vietnamese side will consider the possibility to sell electricity to some provinces in Cambodia’s border area at the request of Cambodia and in line with the practical conditions of Viet Nam. Cambodia agreed to continue to facilitate Vietnamese investors to study and implement hydro-power projects in Cambodia. The two sides encourage and promote private investment and joint-ventures between Cambodian and Vietnamese companies in the areas of energy, oil and gas, post and telecommunication, exploration, mining and refinery in accordance with the law of each country. Cambodia encourages and facilitates Vietnamese enterprises’ investment in mining in Cambodia, particular in the survey and exploration phases. The two sides will continue to discuss and cooperate in the upgrade of the postal systems in each country as well as in the border provinces between Viet Nam and Cambodia for a more efficient and quality operation.
10 – The two sides highly valued the opening of Cho Ray - Phnom Penh hospital which has been put into phase I – operation since 13th January 2014. The two sides agreed to promote exchange of study visits and joint workshops, seminars to facilitate the sharing of experience, knowledge and advances in healthcare, as well as, promptly exchange information on contagious diseases and work together to prevent diseases from spreading on a large scale affecting the lifespan and health of the people, especially at the border check points. The two sides will continue to cooperate in preventing and suppressing the trading of counterfeit and poor quality pharmaceutical products and those facilities that produce such items, and providing prompt and timely information to each other on this effort. Viet Nam’s border provinces continue to offer medical and health services for Cambodian citizens at the same fees as enjoyed by Vietnamese citizens in Viet Nam’s hospitals and medical facilities. Viet Nam’s border provinces agreed to continue extending support and assistance for capacity building in the health sector and provide medical equipments for the border provinces of Cambodia in accordance with the provider’s capacity.
11 – The two sides agreed to continue to grant scholarships to students and officials pursuing various majors and technical professions within the framework of the two governments’ scholarship schemes or provided by one side in contributing to the promotion of human resource development. The two sides will continue to encourage border provinces to work together and help one another with training of human resources, vocational training, and supply of learning equipments as well as construction of other necessary educational facilities. The two sides encouraged border provinces to host programs and festivals so as to provide opportunity for people from both countries to understand more about the other country’s culture, traditions, and customs as well as friendship sports activities to strengthen the bonds and mutual understanding, especially among young people.
12 – The two sides encouraged border provinces to collaborate in marketing and promoting tourism potentials and products and organizing tourism fairs in their localities together with the establishment of common tourism routes. The border provinces should exchange study visits and work together on tourism services as well as tourism management, training of staff and exchange information on and visits to important tourist destinations along the border provinces. The two sides will facilitate the other side to mutually establish tourism representative offices for tourism promotion and attraction of tourists. The two sides will strive to promote implementation of the joint action plan on tourism within the framework of the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Viet Nam (CLMV) cooperation.
13 – The two sides will continue to make efforts in coordinating and resolving the remaining border issues between the two countries on the basis of the signed Treaties, Agreements and MOUs on border issues and in the spirit of mutual understanding. The two sides agreed to continue expediting land border demarcation to build a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development. The border provinces should cooperate and support the land border demarcation as follows:
- Work together, on the basis of mutual understanding and by peaceful means, to prevent and resolve incidents and actions that negatively affect the two countries’ land border demarcation.
- To collaborate fully and resolutely to implement all decisions made by the Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary of the two countries and agreements between of the two Governments.
- Collaborate closely with the Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary in disseminating to the people in border provinces about the importance of land border demarcation of both countries so as to engage them in the safeguarding of planted border markers, raise the awareness and promote compliance with the Border Management Regulations and other regulations on border issues that have been agreed upon between the two countries.
14 – The two sides will continue to work in close collaboration on security and defense so as to maintain the security, stability and law and order in the border areas, prevent and combat crimes, particularly trans-border crimes. The two sides reiterated commitments not to allow any hostile forces to use the territory of one country in order to infringe upon the security and stability of the other country. Both sides will make efforts to carry out the cooperation plan for 2015 between the Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Interior of Cambodia signed on 16th January 2015. Given the above framework for bilateral security-defense cooperation, the border provinces from both countries should pay attention to the following tasks:
- Strive to implement effectively the contents, plans and agreements of cooperation in the area of security and defense signed between the two countries with a view to strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries, building a borderline of peace, friendship, stability and development.
- Work closely together and take timely measures on-site to handle arising issues in the border area in the spirit of neighborliness, friendship, solidarity, mutual sympathy and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity with a view to maintaining stability, security and order along the borderline.
- Local authorities at all levels and competent forces working along the border of both countries continue to uphold and effectively conduct regular and irregular meetings in order to exchange information and work together to address complicated security and law and order issues, particularly transnational crimes, proactively develop work plans on crimes prevention and combat, avoid prolonging problems that can stir up complication in the border area.
- Step up collaboration on patrol and tighten control over border passage; ensure timely detection and prevention of illegal entry of hostile forces that attempt to conduct sabotaging actions; work together to address and identify suspects of illegal border crossing on the basis of each countries’ laws and regulations as well as signed agreements.
- Continue cooperation in the search, exhumation and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who lost their lives during the war in Cambodia in accordance with the plan agreed by both sides.
15 – The Vietnamese side highly appreciated the cooperation of the Royal Government of Cambodia in ensuring the legitimate rights of Vietnamese expats living in Cambodia, equally treated as other foreigners living in Cambodia in conformity with the laws and regulations of Cambodia in the spirit of friendly neighborliness between the two countries. The two sides continue to enhance cooperation in consular affairs, conduct regular exchanges to improve the effectiveness of this work on the basis of the Bilateral Consular Agreement signed in 1997. The two sides agreed to promote legal and judicial cooperation in line with point 21 of the agreed Minutes of the 14th Meeting of the Viet Nam-Cambodia Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation held in Ho Chi Minh City from 18th-19th October 2015.
16 – Both sides agreed to organize the 9th Meeting on Cooperation and Development of border provinces between Viet Nam and Cambodia in Cambodia in 2016. Date and venue of the Meeting will be informed via the diplomatic channel.
On behalf of the Cambodian delegation, Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior highly valued Viet Nam’s thorough arrangements and considered the Meeting a success with many good outcomes and also expressed gratitude to the hospitable welcome and solidarity accorded by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Pham Binh Minh and the Vietnamese side to the Cambodian delegation during this special event.
Done in Ho Chi Minh City on 28th October 2015