Vietnam, Cambodia step up all-around cooperation Vietnam and Cambodia have consented to intensify high-level exchange visits and work more closely to carry out signed agreements in a proper and effective manner. The consensus was reached during talks in Hanoi on December between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his visiting Cambodian counterpart Samdech Hun Sen. The two government leaders have expressed desire to consolidate and develop bilateral ties in the spirit of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, all-faceted and long-lasting cooperation”.  They underlined the need to sign a cross-border trade agreement between Vietnam and Cambodia, and agreed to maintain the principle of prohibiting any hostile force from using one country’s territory to sabotage the other  as well as jointly fight smuggling, illegal immigration, crimes involving drugs, human and weapon trafficking, trans-national and cyber crimes. The Vietnamese cabinet leader said PM Hun Sen’s visit marks an important milestone, helping to consolidate bilateral friendship and cooperation and thanked Cambodia for helping the Vietnamese Cambodian community stabilize their lives. Host and guest to thoroughly prepare for the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (June 24) aiming to deepen mutual understanding between the two people, especially young generations. The two foreign ministries will direct activities for the event.  On the occasion, they concurred to promptly convene the 15th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Inter-governmental Committee next year.  About economic, trade and investment ties, the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade will soon conduct negotiations for the signing of the Vietnam-Cambodia border trade agreement.  The host suggested further enhancing transport and electricity connectivity, tourism, telecommunication and banking within the framework of a master plan on connecting Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese economies. The two countries will direct their transport ministries to chair negotiations on the governmental-level agreement on transport cooperation strategy as mentioned in the agreement adopted by the 14th session of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural and Scientific-Technological Cooperation.  The ministries are required to negotiate the signing of a deal to build a highway connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh on the occasion of a meeting between the two PMs next year, as well as survey the model “One door- one stop” which is expected to be launched at Moc Bai – Ba Vet border gate.  He asked his counterpart to instruct Cambodian relevant agencies to complete the construction, repair and restoration of Vietnam-Cambodia friendship memorials.  Applauding the signing of the education cooperation agreement for 2016-2020, the two PMs emphasized the importance of improving training quality and living expenses for students sent to overseas for study.  Concerning border issues, the Joint Committee on Land Border Demarcation and Marker Planting was assigned to work hard to quickly complete land border demarcation with fair, appropriate and acceptable measures and settle emerging issues at border areas in line with existing mechanisms and the spirit of neighborliness between the two countries.  In terms of overseas Vietnamese affairs, PM Phuc wished that Hun Sen would continue directing agencies to accelerate the settlement of legal papers involving Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia, making it easier for them to settle in and contribute to bilateral ties.  Both sides consented to urge the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to promptly resolve the illegal immigration to Cambodia by the Central Highlands ethnic minorities thoroughly in accordance with the Vietnam-Cambodia-UNHCR agreement signed on January 25, 2005.  They also compared notes on regional and global issues of mutual concern.  On the occasion, PM Phuc accepted PM Hun Sen’s invitation to visit Cambodia next year with pleasure.  Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on judicial assistance in criminal matters between the two governments; an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons between the two countries; and another one between Vietnam’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the Cambodian Ministry of Cults and Religion. Meeting Prime Minister Hun Sen the same day, National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hailed the progress in good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and durable stability between Vietnam and Cambodia.  She said the Vietnam legislative body will always stand side by side with the Cambodian People’s Party.  PM Hun Sen said no hostile forces can divide the relationship between the two countries.  He pledged continual education on the vital values of the two countries over the past years for younger generations.  VOV