Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu: General Secretary's visit highlights Vietnam's readiness to share new development directions with Cambodia

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu affirms that General Secretary To Lam's visit to Cambodia is a concrete implementation of the foreign policy clearly defined by the Communist Party of Vietnam at the recently concluded 14th National Party Congress. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia)

On the occasion of General Secretary To Lam's state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia on February 6, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu shared insights on the significance of the visit and the expectations for bilateral relations following this important event.

Ambassador, what strategic message does General Secretary To Lam's choice of Cambodia as one of the first countries to visit after the 14th Party Congress convey? What is the significance of this visit in affirming the principle of good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between the two countries in the new development phase?

General Secretary To Lam's visit to Cambodia, accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Party and State of Vietnam, right after the successful conclusion of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, sends a clear and strong message: The Party, State, and people of Vietnam continue to value the good neighborly relations, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability with Cambodia, considering it a top priority and a long-term strategic focus in Vietnam's foreign policy.

Choosing Cambodia as one of the first destinations after the Congress reaffirms the continuation and enhancement of the traditional friendship, solidarity, and close ties between the two Parties, countries, and peoples, diligently cultivated by generations of leaders and citizens of both nations.

With a long-term strategic connection, the visit also emphasizes Vietnam's readiness to share new development directions with Cambodia, particularly in successfully implementing the Resolution of the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. This aims to strengthen strategic trust, promote substantive cooperation in all areas, from politics and foreign affairs to defense and security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges. In the context of complex regional and global changes, the visit further underscores that the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship is a valuable asset, continuously nurtured to bring practical benefits to the peoples of both countries, while affirming a shared commitment to safeguarding regional peace and stability, contributing to building a strong ASEAN Community.

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This visit is also a concrete implementation of the foreign policy clearly defined by the Communist Party of Vietnam at the recently concluded 14th Congress. In the documents of the 14th Congress, the Communist Party of Vietnam officially affirmed for the first time that foreign affairs are identified as a "key, regular" field alongside defense and security.

As Vietnam enters a new era of development, what are your expectations for the new cooperation directions between the two Parties and States that will be agreed upon during the upcoming visit?

The cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia has seen very positive developments, particularly evident in recent times. Trade cooperation is a highlight in the overall cooperation between the two countries. In terms of trade scale, we have reached a record bilateral trade turnover of $11.33 billion in 2025, an increase of 11.7% compared to 2024. This is a foundation for both sides to strive towards the goal of reaching $20 billion, as agreed upon by the high-level leaders of both countries.

In the field of investment, Vietnam currently ranks among the top five largest foreign investors in Cambodia with nearly $3 billion in registered capital. Vietnamese enterprises have investments in almost all important economic sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, goods distribution, finance, and banking. Notably, Metfone, a joint venture of Viettel in Cambodia, is among the top five enterprises contributing the most to the Cambodian government's budget last year.

This year, Vietnam has become Cambodia's largest tourism partner, with over 1.2 million Vietnamese visiting Cambodia. Conversely, nearly 690.000 Cambodian tourists visited Vietnam.

In the future, I believe that strategic infrastructure connectivity will be the "breakthrough link" for both countries. The Tan Nam - Meun Chey international border gate pair, inaugurated at the end of 2025, clearly demonstrates the spirit of close and effective cooperation between the two sides, facilitating the border area to become a dynamic economic zone, a diverse cultural region, and a model cooperation area between the two countries.

Additionally, I am very hopeful about the early realization of key transportation projects such as the highway connecting Phnom Penh with Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the maritime route between Kampot and Phu Quoc. When infrastructure is seamless, logistics costs decrease, and the competitiveness of the two economies will be significantly enhanced. My greatest hope is that more Vietnamese enterprises will invest in Cambodia in fields such as high technology, processing industries, digital transformation, renewable energy, infrastructure, and building materials production. This not only brings benefits to the enterprises in this promising market but also makes a substantial contribution to the development of economic, trade, and investment relations between the two countries.

From my practical work experience in Cambodia, I believe that political trust between the two Parties and countries of Vietnam and Cambodia is a "solid anchor" and the core foundation for realizing the principle of good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability. This political trust has been and continues to guide strategic directions for all areas of bilateral cooperation, strengthened through regular meetings between the highest leaders of the two Parties and States. Consequently, any barriers or outstanding issues can be resolved in the spirit of solidarity, friendship, sincerity, and mutual assistance between the two neighboring peoples.

Based on nearly six decades of historical ties between the two countries, as well as the current complex and unpredictable regional and global situation, I believe that the solidarity between the two nations is a precious asset that needs to be preserved and developed for future generations. It is the basis for us to place our trust in the comprehensive, effective, and substantive breakthrough in comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia in the new context.

General Secretary To Lam and Cambodian People's Party Chairman, President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen, and General Secretary, President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, on February 22, 2025. (Photo: VNA)

During the visit, General Secretary To Lam will co-chair the high-level meeting between the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Cambodian People's Party, and co-chair the meeting between the three leaders of the three Parties of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. How do you assess the context and significance of these two high-level meetings?

General Secretary To Lam's visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia takes place in the context of extremely complex and unpredictable regional and global developments. Looking back, the international environment in 2025 is characterized by volatility, instability, and conflicts erupting in many countries and regions. It can even be said that 2025 is the most volatile year in many recent years, as the 14th Congress documents noted, "the world is undergoing epochal changes".

In this context, bilateral relations between Vietnam and Cambodia, and Laos are continuously strengthened and enhanced. In January, the Lao People's Revolutionary Party successfully held its 12th National Congress, while the Communist Party of Vietnam also successfully held its 14th National Congress. Through this, both Parties and countries have identified strategic decisions for the new era of development in each country, while adding strategic connectivity elements to Vietnam-Laos cooperation relations.

Regarding Vietnam-Cambodia bilateral relations, 2025 also witnessed significant milestones, notably the three visits to Vietnam by Cambodian People's Party Chairman, Cambodian Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and his first attendance at the 80th National Day celebration of Vietnam hosted by the Embassy. Both Vietnam and Cambodia consistently affirm the importance of the leadership and guidance roles of the two Parties in preserving, strengthening, and developing the long-term friendship, solidarity, and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the context of the current complex regional and global situation. Both sides consider the relationship between the two Parties as a solid political foundation and play a central, core role in guiding and ensuring that the relationship between the State and People of Cambodia and Vietnam progresses sustainably and in the right direction.

According to the planned schedule, during this visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia, General Secretary Tô Lâm and Cambodian People's Party Chairman Samdech Techo Hun Sen will co-chair the high-level meeting between the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the CPP. Following the success of the most recent meeting in February 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, the upcoming high-level meeting between the leaders of the two Parties in Phnom Penh is an important event to realize the orientation of "good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability" between the two Parties, States, and Peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia in the new situation.

At the upcoming meeting, the leaders of the two Parties will discuss the world and regional situations and some topics of mutual interest; evaluate the cooperation results between the two sides in the past and agree on the cooperation direction between the two countries in the future. Through this, they will continue to emphasize the inevitable necessity of solidarity and mutual assistance between the two Parties and countries as one of the greatest sources of strength, vital to the revolutionary cause, nation-building, and defense of the two Parties and countries, and as a valuable asset of the two peoples that needs to be preserved, nurtured, and passed on to future generations.

During the visit, General Secretary To Lam will also participate in and co-chair the high-level meeting between the leaders of the three neighboring countries' Parties: the Communist Party of Vietnam, CPP, and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. At this high-level meeting, the three leaders will discuss recent world and regional situations, share about the situation of each Party and country over the past year, evaluate the results, and set out the direction for cooperation between the three parties and countries in the future.

This high-level meeting continues to emphasize the close, intimate, and strategically significant relationship between the three neighboring countries, affirming the consistent policy of prioritizing the traditional friendship between the three parties, countries, and peoples of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It also highlights that political relations continue to be the foundation, with the relationship between the three parties playing a guiding role for the relationship between the three countries, thereby effectively promoting cooperation in fields such as defense and security, economic connectivity, trade, investment, culture, education, science, and technology...

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

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