The two-day visit of Vietnamese President To Lam to Cambodia last week had an obvious objective: to assure its Eastern neighbor that their friendship and cooperation remain as strong as ever. This key message was delivered to Cambodian top leaders and was reflected in local media.
For the past year, since Cambodia announced its plan for the mega project known as the Funan Techno Canal, there have been uproars in Vietnam, both officially and unofficially, due to concerns about the longstanding impacts on all dimensions related to the Mekong River and their bilateral relations and beyond.
Both sides have extensively exchanged their views and concerns through high-level visits, seminars, and media, but it still was not sufficient to allay fears that the project would do more harm to the health of the river and affect the water flow of the Mekong, not to mention a myriad of socio-economic repercussions.
Cambodia, especially former Prime Minister Hun Sen, now the Senate President, has made it clear that the project will go ahead as planned.
Cambodia is committed to providing technical information and exercising transparency over the canal project.
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on his birthday on August 5. As such, nobody can stop the project.
Whatever the circumstances, the timing and funding factors will determine if the envisaged canal will proceed smoothly in the years to come.
During the visit, the two countries aimed to boost their bilateral trade further. Vietnam is Cambodia’s third-largest trading partner globally and ASEAN’s largest member with two-way trade amounting to US$8.56 billion last year.
By the end of this year, they hope that the total trade will hit US$10 billion. As the largest investor in Cambodia, Vietnam has 205 investment projects worth nearly US$3 billion.
Besides strengthening defense cooperation, political and social stability was highlighted, especially in border areas. According to press reports, these measures prevent hostile forces from undermining bilateral relations.
Vietnam and Cambodia also took the opportunity to reassure their fraternal friend, Laos PDR, that their friendship and cooperation would remain intact.
They also strongly support the ASEAN chair, currently under Lao leadership.
In addition, the two nations enhanced cooperation in new areas such as green technology, high technology, and export-oriented processing industries.
These new areas are also very trendy among ASEAN members and their dialogue partners.
One of the most important outcomes of the visit was the pledge to enhance cultural and educational exchanges between the peoples of both countries, especially the younger generation.
They feel it is imperative to promote awareness and general knowledge among their youths about their historical ties and the importance of maintaining the bilateral relationship.
Kavi Chongkittavorn//Photo : Vietnam’s President To Lam (C) and Cambodia’s Defence Minister Tea Seiha (centre L) walk past honour guards at the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh on July 13.//AFP
