Ambassador highlights Vietnam-Cambodia close friendship

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu speaking during a roundtable discussion on Vietnam’s 80-year development path in Phnom Penh yesterday. KT/Nuon Soksarim

ynopsis: Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu reaffirms the deep-rooted friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia during a roundtable discussion in Phnom Penh on Vietnam’s 80-year development path.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu reaffirmed the enduring friendship and shared history between Vietnam and Cambodia, stressing the importance of further strengthening bilateral cooperation as scholars and officials gathered in Phnom Penh.

The commitment was made during a roundtable discussion on “Vietnam’s 80th Year Development Path: Relations with Cambodia” held yesterday. The event, organised by the Vietnamese Embassy, brought together officials, scholars, and experts to reflect on Vietnam’s development journey and its relations with Cambodia.

Among the speakers were Seun Sam, Policy Analyst at the Royal Academy of Cambodia; Uch Leang, Acting Director of the Department of Asian, African, and Middle-East Studies under the RAC’s International Relations Institute of Cambodia; Thong Mengdavid, a political and geopolitical analyst and lecturer at the Institute of International Studies and Public Policy of the Royal University of Phnom Penh; and Khieu Kola, Senior Producer at CNC Television.

Reflecting on history, Ambassador Minh Vu said every milestone in each nation’s journey had shaped their bilateral relations. “Vietnam and Cambodia are close neighbours with long-standing traditional ties. The two peoples have united, shared, and supported each other in times of difficulty and hardship, together overcoming many ups and downs of history,” he noted.

He also reflected on Cambodia’s tragic period under the Khmer Rouge, when Vietnam, despite facing post-war challenges, extended solidarity by training key cadres, building revolutionary forces, and coordinating with Cambodian insurgents in their struggle against the Pol Pot regime and liberation of Phnom Penh in 1979.

Looking to the future, Ambassador Minh Vu reaffirmed the importance of building on this legacy. “Today, both Vietnam and Cambodia enjoy peace and independence; bilateral relations have entered a phase of comprehensive, mutually beneficial cooperation, increasingly profound and effective,” he said, noting that ties have been guided since 2005 by the motto “Good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability.”

Kola highlighted Vietnam’s crucial role in Cambodia’s survival and recovery. “If Vietnamese volunteer soldiers had not helped Cambodia resist and liberate the country from the Khmer Rouge regime, I would not be able to sit here today,” he said.

For his part, Leang, who also serves as President of the Cambodia Alumni from Vietnam Association, stressed that Vietnam’s achievements over nearly four decades of reform and eight decades since the founding of the Socialist Republic were made possible by its multilateral foreign policy and the prudent diplomacy of the Communist Party of Vietnam. These, he said, have provided a strong foundation for Vietnam to enter a new era of national development, with the goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2045.

Mengdavid pointed to the steady growth of economic relations, noting that bilateral trade surpassed $10 billion in 2024, driven by cooperation in agriculture, energy, telecommunications, and manufacturing.