Cambodia and Vietnam open new border gate temporarily amid Covid-19

Cambodia and Vietnam open new border gate temporarily amid Covid-19

Cambodia and Vietnam on Monday opened Meun Chey-Tan Nam international border gate temporarily aiming to facilitate cross-border goods transport between the two countries.

The new international border gate is located in Prey Veng province of Cambodia and Tay Ninh province of Vietnam.

The opening ceremony was held in the presence of H.E. Chea Somethy, Governor of Prey Veng province, and senior officials of the Ministry of Interior, including H.E. Sous Prathna, Deputy Director General of Administration, and H.E. Gen. Pin Piseth, Deputy Director General of Immigration, and their Vietnamese counterparts.

H.E. Chea Somethy said the border upgrading will facilitate the cross-border travel of people and goods transport and boost investment, which will contribute to further strengthening the trade ties between both neighbouring nations.

The two countries agreed in 2019 to elevate the Meun Chey-Tan Nam border checkpoint into an international one.

The Cambodian and Vietnamese governments have further agreed to build roads and bridges across the border and to set out joint goals aiming to strengthen and promote mutual cooperation.

The upgrading of border gates is part of cooperation on land border demarcation based on the spirit of friendship and good neighbourliness.

According to Samdech Kralahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, the official opening ceremony of Meun Chey-Tan Nam international border gate will be organised under the presidency of both countries’ Prime Ministers in an appropriate time in the post-COVID-19 crisis.

Cambodia exported some US$1.47 billion worth of products to Vietnam in the first quarter of 2021, a dramatic increase of 443 percent from the same period last year.

The two-way trade increased by more than 103 percent to US$2.69 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to figures from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Commerce, cited by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). AKP