Prime Minister Hun Manet (right) shakes hands with his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin at the Peace Palace on September 28. - Phnom Penh Post
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his visiting Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin held a meeting at the capital discussing ways to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation.
According to a news release after the meeting, the two prime ministers held talks in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, where they had in-depth exchange of views on bilateral cooperation.
"The talks were focused on key areas ranging from trade, investment, tourism, education, vocational training, diplomacy, business relations, people-to-people contacts, and connectivity between the two countries by air, rail and road, digital economy and green economy, immigration-related work to cross-border security and online security," the news release said.
"The two leaders strongly believed that Cambodian-Thai cooperation would be even stronger and closer in the future," it said.
The two leaders also advised relevant ministries and institutions of the two countries to continue to discuss and work together closely for mutual benefit, it added.
Srettha arrived in Phnom Penh on Thursday morning for a one-day official visit.
Thavisin took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that he and Manet shared the same goals to strengthen their relationship in every dimension.
“We will promote trade cooperation, tourism, investment, border area development and new economic sectors. We [will] jointly facilitate the growth of trade volume to reach the goal of $15 billion by 2025, including pushing cross-border transportation by expediting the opening of the Friendship Bridge at Ban Nong Ian-Stung Bot,” he tweeted.
Pointing out that Thailand and Cambodia would continue increasing cooperation in medical and health tourism, Thavisin said he recommended that Cambodia allow temporary border passes to promote tourism along the border. “This will encourage more investment between us. We will also support our SMEs and new generation entrepreneurs in both countries,” he said.
Between January and May this year, both kingdoms traded merchandise to the tune of US$1.7 billion. However, it was an 8.8 per cent year-on-year dip due the global economic slowdown, Cambodia’s General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) stated.
Based on the data, Cambodia’s exports to Thailand reached $480.2 million, up 9.5 per cent year-on-year, while imports dropped 14.4 per cent to $1.2 billion, narrowing the trade deficit between the two nations by 24.9 per cent on an annual basis to $744.5 million.
