Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and his Cambodia counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen (Photo VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Cambodia could make their two-waytrade value at 7-8 billion USD by 2020 as they have established soundcooperation across sectors and their governments have regularly taken measuresto remove difficulties for businesses, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Cambodia counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen attendedthe Vietnam-Cambodia Business Forum in Hanoi on December 6.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that Cambodia is alwaysamong the top three countries absorbing Vietnam’s investment.
Vietnamese investors have so far poured 3 billion USD in 210 projects inagriculture, banking, telecommunication, IT, industry, processing andmanufacturing, trade and healthcare in Cambodia. Many of them have contributedgreatly to socio-economic development in localities hosting their projects.
In turn, Cambodia has had 20 operating projects with nearly 65 millionUSD, engaging in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, and trade in Vietnam.
The two countries have been working to maintain high two-way trade value growthand expected the value would reach 5 billion USD this year, the volume that waspreviously set for 2020.
Vietnam ranks second in terms of the number of tourists visiting Cambodia witharound 500,000 people spending holidays in the neighbouring country in thefirst 10 months of this year. In 2017, 220,000 Cambodians visited Vietnam.
Addressing the forum, PM Phuc said the two countries need to work more closelyand more efficiently in the coming time when the regional and global economicsituations will have a lot of challenges.
Once the two countries work with each other well to tape their hugepotential, they can bring mutual benefits for their peoples, he noted.
He urged the two countries’ businesspeople to make the best use of the ASEANeconomic community’s regulations on opening door to capital, commodities,laborers and services.
“The Government and Prime Minister of Vietnam always support and provide allpossible conditions to assist Vietnamese businesses to invest in Cambodia,” hesaid.
He reminded Vietnamese investors to provide training, transfertechnology, along with realizing social responsibility, and protecting theenvironment in Cambodia.
He asked big groups, like Viettel, PetroVietnam, and EVN to pioneer in doing profitablebusiness in the neighbouring country.
He expected the Cambodian Royal Government and Prime Minister Hun Sen willcontinue unlocking difficulties for Vietnamese investors so to make it easierfor the investment flow between the two countries for their win-win benefits.
PM Hun Sen hailed trade and investment cooperation between the twocountries, saying the Vietnamese Government and PM managed the economyprofessionally, thus reining in inflation, which had positive effects onCambodia’s economy.
He said Cambodia is pursuing a policy on developing industries toimplement a new growth strategy in the 2015-2025 period, along with reformingadministrative procedures in taxation and customs, and calling for investmentsinto deep-water seaports, highways, and national roads to connect to ports andneighboring countries.
Cambodia posted an average GDP growth rate of over 7 percent and is expectedthe growth of 7.3 percent this year. It is working to become a highmiddle-income country by 2030, he said.
The Cambodian Royal Government is revising laws relating to investmentand working to adopt the law on special economic zones. It will modernize thecustoms and tax systems and encourage the development of smart city and thetraining of high-quality human resources, he told participants.-VNA
VNA
