Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan accompanies Deputy PM during Cambodia visit

On the afternoon of November 27, shortly after arriving in Phnom Penh, Deputy Minister Tan joined the Deputy PM and the Vietnamese delegation in a working visit to the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, where he met and held discussions with representatives of the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in the country.

At the meeting, the Deputy Minister delivered remarks highlighting key achievements in Vietnam-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation in recent years. In particular, bilateral trade has remained a bright spot, with turnover in the first ten months of 2025 reaching USD 9.5 billion and expected to exceed USD 11.5 billion for the full year.

He stressed that businesses from both countries have effectively leveraged bilateral trade frameworks to boost import-export activities. He also called on enterprises to better utilise ASEAN, ASEAN+ and regional trade agreements to expand investment and business operations. Vietnam and Cambodia are striving toward the target of USD 20 billion in bilateral trade, a goal set by the two countries’ senior leaders. Achieving this objective, he affirmed, requires the proactive engagement of Vietnamese associations, enterprises operating in Cambodia and the broader Vietnamese community in the country.

On the morning of November 28, Deputy Minister Tan accompanied the Deputy PM to a meeting with Samdech Techo Hun, President of the Senate of Cambodia, to discuss several areas of bilateral cooperation.

In the afternoon, he attended the 13th Conference on Cooperation and Development of Vietnam-Cambodia Border Provinces, co-chaired by Deputy PM Bui Thanh Son and Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha. The conference took place in a formal, friendly and constructive atmosphere with the participation of more than 100 delegates from ministries, sectors and border provinces of both countries.

Both sides underscored the importance of maintaining close friendship and cooperation between border provinces in particular and between Vietnam and Cambodia in general. Cooperation has seen positive, comprehensive progress across trade, investment, health, tourism, agriculture, education, culture and people-to-people exchanges. The agenda items discussed at the conference were assessed as concrete, concise and highly action-oriented.

During the session, Deputy Minister Tan presented a report on the current state and future orientation of Vietnam-Cambodia economic cooperation, which received strong support and appreciation from both delegations. Alongside the positive outcomes in trade ties, he candidly pointed out a number of challenges requiring joint attention, including inadequate trade and logistics infrastructure; limited production-related services; a high share of small-scale border trade, which poses risks for traceability and product quality; and persistent smuggling and trade fraud along the border.

To address these issues, he proposed 6 priority solutions: (i) upgrading and synchronising infrastructure for border trade such as cross-border transport routes, warehouses, logistics centres, cold storage and bonded facilities; (ii) modernising border-gate management toward smart border models, enhancing information connectivity between customs, quarantine agencies and specialised inspection bodies, and promoting digitalisation and risk-management systems; (iii) strengthening production linkages and bilateral supply chains in potential sectors including agro-processing, food processing, rubber and rubber products, textiles, footwear and supporting industries;(iv) intensifying efforts to combat smuggling and trade fraud through closer coordination among enforcement forces, tighter control over trails and informal crossings and improved information exchange on product origin; (v) expanding trade promotion and business-to-business connectivity; (vi) enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as conferences and joint committees, ensuring regular meetings to promptly address bottlenecks at border gates.

Alongside these bilateral engagements, from November 27 to 29, Deputy Minister Tan also visited several Vietnamese-invested enterprises in Cambodia, including Viettel Cambodia (Metfone), MBCambodia and Angkor Milk, a facility invested by Vinamilk.

Vietnam currently ranks among the five largest foreign investors in Cambodia, with registered capital exceeding USD 2.94 billion.