Attendees included Mr. Tith Rithipol, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Standing Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the An Giang PPC; Mr. Vu Ba Phu, Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade; Mr. Khon Srey Ratha, Deputy Governor of Kandal Province, Kingdom of Cambodia; along with nearly 200 agencies, businesses, and associations from Vietnam and Cambodia.

The Southern Region trade promotion conference holds significant importance. Beyond creating opportunities for enterprises from both countries to meet, promote products and brands, connect, and establish partnerships, it also allows southern provinces and cities to showcase their potential and strengths. At the same time, it fosters trade, strengthens business linkages, addresses bottlenecks, and expands markets between the two countries.

In his welcome address, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong stated that in recent years, trade relations between An Giang and Cambodian provinces have grown strongly. As of September 2025, total import–export turnover between An Giang and Cambodia reached USD 940 million, including USD 531 million in exports and USD 409 million in imports. Bilateral commodity structures are complementary, covering items such as inputs and raw agricultural products for production, aquatic products, rice, consumer goods, fertilizers, and many others.

With support from central authorities, An Giang Province is concentrating all resources to accelerate key, inter-regional transport infrastructure projects; placing enterprises at the center of cooperation; pledging to accompany and listen to businesses; and minimizing time and costs. The goal is to create a transparent, attractive, and most favorable investment and business environment so companies can invest with confidence and pursue long-term development.

At this conference, An Giang not only seeks to sell products but also aims to work with Cambodian enterprises to create higher-value products.

“We not only have a land border of over 148 km with three international border gates—Vinh Xuong, Tinh Bien, and Ha Tien—but also access to a seaport system and Phu Quoc International Airport. This positions An Giang as a two-way transshipment gateway and a strategic trade hub for the entire Mekong Delta region, connecting with Phnom Penh and the Gulf of Thailand. Therefore, An Giang invites Cambodian enterprises to cooperate in developing raw material regions, then bring them to deep-processing factories in An Giang to create co-branded products and jointly conquer international markets,” Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong emphasized.

According to Mr. Vu Ba Phu, Vietnam and Cambodia are among each other’s most important economic–trade partners in Southeast Asia. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover reached about USD 10.2 billion, up more than 3% compared to 2023. Within that, Vietnam’s Southern Key Economic Region plays a leading role in national economic development, industry, and import–export, accounting for nearly 45% of national export value and contributing around 50% of total industrial output. 

Cross-border trade along the Southwest border—where An Giang is a key gateway—is developing strongly. An Giang currently has three international border gates (Vinh Xuong, Tinh Bien, and Ha Tien), three main border gates (Khanh Binh, Bac Dai, and Giang Thanh), and 15 border markets with synchronized infrastructure investment, serving as an important transshipment point linking Vietnam’s Southern Key Economic Region with Cambodia’s Takeo, Kandal, and Phnom Penh..

Sharing information at the conference, Mr. Tith Rithipol noted that ministries and relevant agencies of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia have been formulating and implementing measures to improve business operations and increase efficiency in specific areas. These include the introduction of online payment systems; adoption of a national single-window system linked with the ASEAN Single Window; automated tax registration and filing systems; an online work-permit application system; and the establishment of public–private dialogue mechanisms to address issues and concerns of the business and investment community in Cambodia, thereby promoting transparency in the business environment.

Promoting and facilitating trade and investment between Cambodia and Vietnam is truly of great importance, contributing to economic growth and the prosperity of the peoples of both countries.

According to Mr. Tith Rithipol, Cambodia has focused heavily on establishing legal and regulatory frameworks to support business and investment—such as the new Investment Law, the Law on Public Procurement, the Law on Public–Private Partnerships, the Law on Consumer Protection, the Law on Competition, the Law on Commercial Arbitration, the Law on E-Commerce, and other legislation that plays an important role in facilitating business and investment in Cambodia.

Within the conference framework, regulatory bodies, associations, and the business communities of both countries held two discussion sessions to analyze promising business and investment opportunities and to propose practical solutions and effective initiatives.

These efforts contribute to expanding the scale of trade, investment, and service cooperation between Vietnam’s Southern Economic Region and Cambodia in the coming period.

The conference displayed standout products from localities within and beyond the Southern Region, alongside signature products from Cambodian enterprises—introducing regional and sectoral potential and strengths, while creating direct networking opportunities between businesses of the two countries.

Translated by Nhu Ngoc 

Translated by Kim Thuan