Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh (front, right) hands over the ratification document to Cambodian Ambassador Chay Navuth in Hanoi on December 22 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam and Cambodia on December 22 exchanged the documents ratifying the“Supplementary Treaty to the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of NationalBoundaries and the 2005 Supplementary Treaty”, also known as the 2019Supplementary Treaty, and the protocol on land border demarcation and markerplanting.
The event, held via videoconference, wasco-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign AffairsPham Binh Minh and Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs andInternational Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.
With the exchange of the ratification documents,the 2019 Supplementary Treaty and the protocol on land borderdemarcation and marker planting, which were signed on October 5 lastyear and recognised the result of the Vietnam-Cambodia land border demarcationand marker planting, about 84 percent of the total workload, officially tookeffect from December 22, 2020.
The 2019 Supplementary Treaty and the protocol’sentry into force is considered a big success of both countries as they holdgreat significance during more than 36 years of handling land border-relatedissues between the two countries, helping to lift bilateral relations to a newheight and reflecting the motto of “good neighbourliness, traditionalfriendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability” as agreedon by their senior leaders.
That these two legal documents came into forcedemonstrates the resolve, goodwill, and efforts by both Vietnam and Cambodia injointly dealing with common border issues.
Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn (second, left) hands over the ratification document to Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Quang Minh in Phnom Penh on December 22 (Photo: VNA)The 2019 documents, along with the 1985 Treatyon the Delimitation of National Boundaries and the 2005 Supplementary Treaty,will serve as the fundamental legal framework for the management, protection,and development of the Vietnam-Cambodia land border in the new context, therebyfirmly safeguarding security, defence, and social order and safety in borderareas and helping to foster development cooperation, friendship exchange, andimprovement of local living standards.
This will provide the basis for building theVietnam-Cambodia land border into a border of peace, stability, cooperation,and sustainable development, thus contributing to the reinforcement of ASEAN’ssolidarity and the promotion of the bloc’s prestige and stature in the world.
In the time ahead, the two countries are set towork closely together to soon hand over and manage the borderline and bordermarkers in conformity with the protocol on land borderdemarcation and marker planting. They will also continue negotiationsto draft international treaties on border and border gate managementregulations and handle the remaining part of the borderline, about 16 percent,on which border demarcation and marker planting has yet to complete./.
VNA
