Cambodia Vietnam Improve Cross Borer Links

Tourism in Cambodia has grown rapidly in number of tourists. Cambodia is rich in cultural and natural resource; as a result, Cambodia is noticed and ranked as one of the foremost destinations in Southeast Asia. According to Ministry of Tourism in Cambodia, international tourist arrival in 2007 was 2.1 million and grew 18.5 % and it is expected that the number will increase up to 3.2 million in 2010. In cooperation with Vietnam, Cambodia has developed the cross border link in order to facilitate more convenient travel between the two border countries.

At a meeting held in Ang Yang province Vietnam, an area known to Khmers as Kumpuchea krom, official from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and industry inked as Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Vietnamese Commerce Ministry to help increase cross border trade.

The meeting focused on infrastructure improvements and markets and economic zones in the border area between Cambodia and Vietnam.The amount of cross border trades has mushroomed in recent past years, growing at an annual rate of over 30%. Between 2001 and 2007, total cross border trade turn over between the two countries was over US$ 3.06 billion, of which Vietnam exported US$ 2.83 billion worth of goods to Cambodia and imported US$ 228.6 million of goods from Cambodia.The two Countries aim to increase two way trade turnover by 27 per cent every year to reach US$ 2.3 billion in 2010 and US$ 6.5 billion in 2015.