Cambodia and Vietnam signed agreements Saturday that will bring $6 billion worth of investment into Cambodia, according to Prime Minister Hun Sen and media reports.
During a Vietnamese investor’s conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia and Vietnam agreed to strengthen cooperation in four sectors—commerce, tourism, energy and transportation—Mr Hun Sen announced yesterday in a speech.
“We have the ambition and commitment to keep developing the investment atmosphere in Cambodia in order to promote it as the best in the region,” he said, adding that the passing of the investment law and the recent Council of Ministers approval of the anticorruption draft law, as well as Cambodia’s natural resources, showed that the country was ready for more investment.
He added that some of the agreed upon investment plans are already in progress in various industries such as agriculture, finance, energy and transportation.
State-run media Voice of Vietnam reported on Saturday that the agreements between the two countries totaled $6 billion and will focus on power, food processing, fertilizer production, rubber plantations and health care sectors.
Mr Hun Sen said yesterday that the amount of investment between the two countries could already have exceeded $2 billion dollars.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the government provided licenses to a Vietnamese company to explore the Mondolkiri province for bauxite mining opportunities.
“In the next moment, we will have the signing ceremony on the notice supporting the project between Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Vietnam’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry to start the operation between our countries in this new sector,” the premier said of the mining operation.
He also talked about the agreement to create a Vietnamese investment group. “I would like to welcome the creation of the Vietnamese Investment Association in Cambodia,” he said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday by telephone that he had no information on the announced agreements.
“In the schedule, Samdech planned to spend one day in Vietnam,” he said before referring questions to officials at the Council for the Development of Cambodia and the Ministry of Finance and Economy, who could not be reached.
Vietnamese Embassy spokesman Trinh Ba Cam could also not be reached for comment yesterday.
