Vietnam has pledged $25 million to Cambodia to build a new National Assembly secretariat building in Phnom Penh, while also promising greater cooperation on a range of issues between the two nations, officials said on Thursday.
Officials from Cambodia and Vietnam signed five memorandums of understanding (MoU) during a ceremony at the Peace Palace presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen and attended by Nguyen Phu Trong, general-secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who arrived on Thursday for a two-day visit to Cambodia, according to a government statement provided to reporters.
After an hourlong meeting, MoUs were signed to strengthen economic ties, cooperation on the development of power plants, electricity connections and the energy sector and improve natural disaster rescue operations along the border, the statement said.
One MoU was signed between Cambodia’s National Institute of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Communication Technology and Viettel Cambodia, a subsidiary of Viettel, Vietnam’s state-owned mobile network operator.
Mr. Nguyen congratulated the ruling CPP for the party’s victory in last month’s commune elections and proposed a new bilateral trade goal, Eang Sophalleth, personal adviser to Mr. Hun Sen, told reporters after the signing.
“He requested to both countries to continue strengthening trade until it reaches $5 billion in 2025,” Mr. Sophalleth said.
“Finally, he told Samdech Techo Hun Sen that Vietnam agreed to provide $25 million to build a National Assembly secretariat building,” he
added.
