Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Cambodia from November 8-9 and his attendance at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related events on November 10-13 are expected to help boost bilateral trade cooperation, which has reported positive growth in the recent past.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the 2016-20 period, two-way trade recorded an annual average growth rate of 17 per cent, from US$2.92 billion in 2016 to $5.31 billion in 2020.

Turnover surged by 79.1 per cent to $9.54 billion last year and is expected to surpass $11 billion this year, as it reached $8.45 billion in the first nine months of this year.

Along with bilateral deals such as the border trade agreement and the bilateral trade promotion agreement, those in ASEAN are hoped to continue connecting the Vietnamese and Cambodian economies.

These agreements are also expected to create more opportunities for investors of Viet Nam, Cambodia and the third-party countries to make the most of each nation's advantages to expand investment and business activities, and develop regional value chains for export to ASEAN countries and other markets around the world.

Viet Nam and Cambodia also have great potential to continue promoting cooperation in specific fields such as consumer goods production, energy, electricity, mining, processing, agriculture, forestry and fishery.

Statistics show that Viet Nam has 198 investment projects in Cambodia with a total registered capital of $2.92 billion.

At talks on the sidelines of the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting in Cambodia in September, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak agreed to promote cooperation in border trade through upgrading border gates and opening new border markets.

To foster bilateral trade, the Vietnamese ministry plans to chair a Viet Nam-Cambodia Business Forum and send business delegations to a one province, one product im-export fair scheduled for December in Phnom Penh. — VNS