Viet Nam, Cambodia work towards US$20 bln in bilateral trade

The event was attended by leaders of ministries, sectors and localities, as well as approximately 300 business representatives from the two countries.

Trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia reached approximately US$11.4 billion in 2025, an increase of more than 12 percent. In the first eight months of 2026, the figure totaled nearly US$8.7 billion.

Viet Nam is currently Cambodia's largest trading partner within ASEAN and its third-largest trading partner globally. Leaders of the two countries have agreed on a target of raising bilateral trade turnover to US$20 billion in the near future.

Viet Nam has poured US$3.4 billion in 223 investment projects in Cambodia, spanning agriculture, telecommunications, finance and banking, aviation, food processing, trade and services. Meanwhile, Cambodian businesses have invested in 50 projects in Viet Nam, with total investment capital of US$81.6 million.

Addressing the event, Le urged the two governments to review and continue simplifying procedures related to investment, land, immigration, customs and quarantine.

Infrastructure connectivity should be strengthened to link the two markets, he noted, saying that priority should be given to highways, railways and inland waterways connecting the two countries.

In particular, progress should be accelerated on the Ho Chi Minh City–Moc Bai–Bavet–Phnom Penh expressway. Border gates, border markets and logistics centers should be upgraded, while the "single-window, single-stop" model should be promoted at major pairs of border crossings to enable faster and more cost-effective movement of goods.

The two sides should move beyond trading raw materials and jointly invest in raw material production areas, deep processing, quality standards and traceability systems in Cambodia, enabling Cambodian farmers to capture a greater share of the added value.

Financial and banking connectivity should be strengthened, including expanding payments in local currencies and cross-border QR payments, while facilitating the expansion of banking networks in both countries and improving access to capital for businesses and individuals, stressed the Vietnamese Prime Minister.

Le suggested the two countries connect new growth drivers, including digital transformation, e-commerce, renewable energy, electricity grid interconnection, tourism and high-quality human resource training.

Hun Manet, for his part, highly appreciated the presence of Vietnamese investors and their positive contributions to Cambodia's economic development over the past more than three decades.

He further noted that tourism cooperation has considerable untapped potential, adding that the two countries should deepen their collaboration in this sector.

In 2025, more than one million Vietnamese tourists visited Cambodia, making Viet Nam one of Cambodia's leading source markets for international visitors.

Cambodia remains committed to maintaining the key foundations necessary for investment and continuously improving the business environment, the host reiterated, calling on the business communities and investors of both countries to continue exploring new opportunities and shift from conventional trade toward investment in deep processing, value addition and deeper participation in regional supply chains.

At the forum, in the presence of the two prime ministers, agencies and businesses from both countries exchanged five cooperation documents./.