State President To Lam to pay State visits to Laos and Cambodia

The Government News has quoted the Foreign Ministry as announcing on July 9 that State President To Lam will pay State visits to Laos and Cambodia from July 11-13.

The visits will be made at the invitations of General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, and Cambodian King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni.

Vietnam and Laos officially established diplomatic relations on September 5, 1962. The establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in December 1975 ushered in a new stage of the bilateral ties, a stage of special relations of friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties and States.

In 2023, the two-way trade reached about $1.6 billion, a slight decrease of 2.1% year on year, but the import value from Laos surged by 4.2%.

Last year, Vietnam's investment capital in Laos reached $116.6 million, an increase of 65.3 per cent compared to 2022.

Laos now has 18 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of over $110 million.

Vietnam and Cambodia established diplomatic ties 57 years ago, on June 24, 1967. The achievements of the bilateral relationship over the past more than five decades were reflected in the victory of the national liberation struggle in each country and also in the development of comprehensive cooperative relationships.

Two-way trade has seen significant progress, with growth rate averaging 20% from 2015 to 2022, surpassing $10 billion in 2022.

Vietnam's exports to Cambodia during the first half of 2024 were estimated at $2.5 billion, mainly consisting of iron and steel, clothing and petrol and oil.

Vietnam remains the leading ASEAN investor in Cambodia, with 205 valid projects worth $2.95 billion.