Cambodia and Vietnam are two neighboring countries with a long-standing traditional relationship and have a critical strategic position and role in the struggle to protect each country’s national independence.

The Truth Engraved into History

During the resistance war against France, Cambodia and Vietnam’s revolutionary forces united and fought to regain independence for their countries from the colonial regime. After gaining independence from the French colonial regime, Cambodia and Vietnam continued to help each other in the resistance war against the invading imperialists.

Vietnam liberated the South and unified the country on April 30, 1975; Cambodia was liberated earlier, on April 17, 1975, but fell under the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge.

The Great Spring of Victory 1975, which culminated in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, gained complete victory on April 30, 1975, liberating the South and reunifying Vietnam. It is a unique and miraculous heroic epic for the Vietnamese. This year, Vietnam celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 / April 30, 2025), which is a very important political event in Vietnam that evaluates the victory of the Vietnamese as having profound epochal significance, encouraging and promoting the struggle for independence and freedom;

It is also a common delighted pleasure for international friends who have given sincere and wholehearted help and support the Vietnamese revolution including Cambodia to Vietnam’s cause of struggle and national unification. International friends, the Defense Ministries of China, Laos, and Cambodia will participate in this event to contribute significantly to the overall success of the celebration, as well as demonstrate the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and its three neighboring countries with adjacent borders.

Strengthening Cambodia-Vietnam relations in all fields

Over the years, the Cambodia-Vietnam relationship has been continuously strengthened and developed in all fields in the current context, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries, actively contributing to peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world.

Political relations between the two countries continue to develop well, with senior leaders of the two countries maintaining visits, contacts, and exchanges in many forms. In particular, on February 21, 2025, a high-level meeting took place in Ho Chi Minh City between the Politburo of the Communist Party of and the Standing Committee of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), General Secretary To Lam and CPP President and President of the Cambodian Senate Samdech Techo Hun Sen as co-chaired expressed their joy and appreciation for the increasingly deep and extensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples in all fields, contributing significantly to socio-economic development and enhancing the position and prestige of each country in the region and the world; emphasized that solidarity and mutual assistance between the two Parties and two countries is an objective necessity, a historical law, one of the greatest sources of strength, of vital significance to the revolutionary cause, national construction and protection of the two Parties and two countries, and a valuable asset of the two peoples that needs to be continued to be preserved, cultivated and passed on to future generations.

Through the diplomatic visits of the two countries’ senior leaders, the two sides always agreed and reaffirmed the principles in bilateral relations, agreed on the direction to promote and develop friendly relations, multilateral cooperation and establish a specific negotiation mechanism and roadmap to resolve outstanding issues, creating favorable conditions to continue promoting and bringing the two countries’ relations to a new stage of development.

Economics, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries in general and between border provinces in particular has achieved positive results. Cambodia-Vietnam trade turnover in 2024 reached 10.1 billion USD, up 17.5% over the same period in 2023, and 1.8 billion USD in the first 2 months of 2025, up 11.2% over the same period in 2024. Currently, Vietnam is the 5th largest investor in Cambodia with a total registered capital of more than 2.94 billion USD (215 projects). Investment and business activities of Vietnamese enterprises have made significant contributions to the development of the Cambodian economy, helping to create jobs for workers, contributing to the Cambodian GDP, and doing a good job of social welfare in localities, including typical Vietnamese enterprises such as Metfone, BIDC, Angkor Milk, Thaco Agri…

Security and defense cooperation have always been a pillar in the bilateral relationship. Vietnam always supports Cambodia in developing peace, stability, and prosperity. The two sides reaffirmed the principle of not allowing any hostile forces to use one’s territory to harm the other’s security as well as the friendship and cooperation between Cambodia-Vietnam; agreed to proactively coordinate responses to avoid being passive or avoid passivity and unexpected events in all situations; build a peaceful, stable and sustainably developed Cambodia-Vietnam border, well manage and promote the resolution of boundary demarcation, strengthen coordination between land and sea forces, and promptly and satisfactorily handle arising issues.

According to the Standing Committee member of the Cambodian People’s Party, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia Neth Savoeun affirmed during the reception of Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu (March 20, 2025), despite the world situation has changed, the Cambodia-Vietnam relationship from the past to the present and in the future will never change. Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu, thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for always valuing Vietnam and constantly strengthening the special traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and affirmed that security and defense cooperation is a pillar in the cooperation relationship between the two countries.

Other cooperation in education, training, transportation, culture, health, telecommunications… is being promoted.

The governments of the two countries are always creating favorable conditions for the people of the two countries to live in each other’s territories, following the laws of each country. Every year, Vietnam grants hundreds of long-term scholarships to Cambodian students studying in Vietnam, and the number of Vietnamese students studying in Cambodia is increasing. The two countries also regularly organize cultural and artistic exchange activities, especially in border localities.

Vietnam regularly organizes volunteer medical delegations to examine, treat, and provide free medicine to the Cambodian people. Cambodian patients coming to Vietnam for medical examination and treatment are entitled to the same medical examination and treatment fees as Vietnamese people. In addition, the two countries also closely coordinate at international, regional, and sub-regional forums, contributing to enhancing the position and prestige of each country in the region and the world.

In the coming time, the world and regional situation will undergo rapid change, the two countries Cambodia and Vietnam will fight together against narrow nationalism and activities that distort, slander, and divide the relationship between the two countries, to create a pure, stable, and sustainable relationship rooted in traditional solidarity and friendship for the benefits of the people of both countries, as well as for the peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

The two countries will continue to develop together in the new era under the motto of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability” for the benefit of the people of each country, for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world./.

By: UCH Leang, Acting Director of the Department of Asian, African and Middle East Studies, of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, and the President of the Cambodia Alumni from Vietnam Association.