Prime Minister Le Minh Hung met representatives of the Vietnamese-origin community and staff of Vietnamese representative agencies in Cambodia on October 10 during his official visit to the neighbouring country.
At the meeting in Phnom Penh, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu highlighted a series of high-level visits between the two countries in 2026. He said they had helped consolidate political trust and advance bilateral cooperation across various fields.
On border and territorial affairs, the embassy contributed to land border demarcation and marker planting and promoted a coordination mechanism for maritime issues.
In economic and trade cooperation, the embassy stepped up economic diplomacy. It worked with Cambodian authorities and Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities to resolve difficulties facing Vietnamese businesses and promote bilateral trade.
The embassy also organised the 2026 Vietnam-Cambodia Business Dialogue, which brought together more than 200 business representatives from both countries. It was the first time Vietnamese enterprises had held such a dialogue with the Council for the Development of Cambodia.
Bilateral trade reached 8.67 billion USD in the first eight months of 2026, up 8.3% year on year. Vu said the figure was projected to reach around 13 billion USD for the full year. The embassy also organised investment promotion activities and supported Vietnamese localities in seeking trade and investment opportunities in Cambodia.
Calling Cambodia strategically important to Vietnam, the ambassador asked the PM to continue directing the development of more favourable mechanisms to help Vietnamese businesses expand investment in the market.
Sim Chy, President of the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Cambodia, said the community would continue strengthening friendship between the two countries. He thanked Vietnamese Party and State leaders, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, ministries, agencies, localities, the embassy, businesses and benefactors for supporting the community, particularly by helping resolve legal documentation issues, assisting families facing hardship or natural disasters, and organising Khmer-language classes.
Leng Rithy, Chairman of the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Association, praised Vietnam's development achievements and said Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia had become an important bridge for bilateral trade. He pledged to help strengthen trade connectivity and investment promotion, supporting economic development in both countries and closer people-to-people ties.
Leng Rithy proposed taking bilateral economic cooperation beyond goods trading towards joint investment, production and processing. He said this would help create value chains and expand markets by using the complementary strengths of the two economies.
Addressing the meeting, PM Hung reaffirmed the Party and State's determination to turn policies into tangible results. He said practical benefits for people and businesses were the main measure of effectiveness.
Reviewing his working sessions with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Manet, Senate President Samdech Hun Sen and other senior Cambodian leaders, he said the two sides had reached important strategic understandings to broaden comprehensive cooperation.
On overseas Vietnamese affairs, the PM referred to the Politburo's renewed policy direction. He said Vietnamese communities abroad remained an inseparable part of the nation and a strategic resource for the country.
Sharing the difficulties facing Vietnamese-origin people in Cambodia, he said the Vietnamese Government would continue urging Cambodia to provide favourable conditions for the community to stabilise their lives and secure sustainable livelihoods.
The PM tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant Cambodian authorities, with addressing obstacles related to administrative procedures, residency, citizenship, livelihoods and resettlement. He also called for Vietnamese-origin children to have access to public education in Cambodia.
The PM further assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Training to consider expanding undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship programmes for children of the Vietnamese community. The measure is intended to help develop human resources for the future.
PM Hung asked community members to comply with Cambodian law, prioritise the welfare and education of children and young people, and continue serving as a bridge of friendship between the two peoples.
He also called on community organisations, including the Khmer-Vietnamese Association and the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Association, to strengthen their roles in uniting the community, engaging younger generations and mobilising respected individuals to build a stronger and more sustainable community.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
