Vietnam and Cambodia have showed their determination to augment closer cooperation towards building a shared border of peace, friendship, collaboration, and development.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Cambodian Deputy PM and Interior Minister Sar Kheng co-chaired the 10th meeting on cooperation and development between border localities of Vietnam and Cambodia in Ho Chi Minh City over January 9-10.
In his opening speech, Minh highlighted the sound development of bilateral ties between the two nations under the motto of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability”. He said bilateral political ties have ceaselessly been fortified while the two-way trade exceeded US$4.6 billion last year and is expected to meet and surpass the US$5 billion target before 2020.
Bilateral border trade has grown steadily. The two sides have accelerated their negotiation toward the early signing of the Border Trade Agreement. 90% of the construction work of the Vietnam-Cambodia model market has been completed and the market is expected to be put in operation this year. Border gates have been upgraded with improved administrative processes as a result of reduced time for customs clearance, Minh said.
At the meeting, both sides incentivized investment and support for border localities and suggested both nations should beef up coordination in order to promptly cope with challenges in the fields concerned.
They underscored the importance of security-defence cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in each nation and expressed their resolve to forbid any hostile force to use their country’s territory to harm the other’s security.
Regarding the project to upgrade the border gates in Tan Nam of Tay Ninh province and Mon Chay of Pray Veng province, and give them “international” status, they pledged closer collaboration to open more border gates between the two countries in the near future.
The two sides hailed the efforts by relevant authorities in the land border demarcation and marker planting work, and said that they will finalize two documents to officially legalize 84% of border demarcation and marker planting-related work in 2019.
For his part, Sar Kheng applauded the great efforts by authorities and relevant agencies in the border provinces in jointly carrying out a cooperative plan set forth by the 9th meeting.
He noted that both sides have held regular meetings, intensified delegation exchange, and worked together on ensuring border security and order, as well as promoting exchange of goods, entry-exit activities and bilateral engagements in education, power supply, transport, as well as demarcation and planting of border markers.
The Cambodian Deputy PM said, “The primary goal is to maintain order and security, improve the efficiency of goods trade, and focus on the fields of agriculture, energy, tourism, cross-cultural exchange and border demarcation and marker planting work so as to make an important contribution to the constant development of the two countries’ border localities and the maintenance of peace and stability, meeting the aspirations of the two peoples."
Vietnam highly evaluates India’s role and contributions to regional peace, stability and development, and always regards India as one of its most important partners, the top leader said.
The Party and State leaders expressed their profound respect and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, who founded and trained the Communist Party of Vietnam and made immense contributions to the Party and nation’s glorious revolutionary cause.
The NA's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs has moved fast to reshuffle its organisation after the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th NA, updating its work agenda to match new directives set out in the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and the first Congress of the NA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 term.
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Vietnam National University, Hanoi must rise even further, becoming a leading academic pillar, a major hub of innovation, and a pioneering force in Vietnam’s higher education system; while also serving as a distinguished and reputable representative of Vietnamese intellect on the international stage.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang shared Vietnam’s approach to building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep international integration, while proposing several key areas for enhanced cooperation between BRICS and partner countries at the Expanded BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened on May 14 in India.
The Central Steering Committee for reviewing the one-year operation of the political system’s apparatus and the two-tier local administration model convened its first session in Hanoi on May 14.
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Both sides emphasised that advancing bilateral relations is a shared strategic choice, and pledged to steadfastly pursue the socialist path and jointly safeguard the socialist regimes and the leadership role of their Communist Parties as their most fundamental common strategic interest, Ambassador He Wei said.
At the meetings, the senior Vietnamese Party official affirmed that Vietnam would continue to work closely with Cambodia to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, while consistently supporting Cambodia’s peaceful, stable and prosperous development.
Vietnam highly values the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in strengthening national capacity in crime prevention and criminal justice, drug control, and addressing emerging challenges, particularly cybercrime, said Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that digital transformation must go beyond investing in software or platforms and instead create substantive changes in working methods, advisory quality and operational efficiency.
Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.
Bui Thi Minh Hoai was re-elected President of the the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee for the 2026-2031 tenure at the first conference of the 11th-term VFF Central Committee, held before the closing session of its 11th National Congress on May 13 morning in Hanoi.
At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.
The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.
More than 1,300 delegates are attending the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for the 2026–2031 tenure, including 1,138 official delegates.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung praised ministries and agencies for their proactive steps since the beginning of this year and especially from early April to follow the Politburo’s Resolution 57 and Conclusion 18, with clear, positive progress.