Cambodia, Thailand vow to triple trade volume to 15 bln USD in 5 years

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to boost their bilateral trade to 15 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 from the current 5 billion dollars, according to a joint press statement on Saturday.

The statement, released by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was made after Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen concluded his official visit to Thailand, where he had talks with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"On trade and investment, the two prime ministers agreed to triple the current bilateral trade volume by 2020," the statement said.

To facilitate more trade and investment, especially border trade, both sides will implement the Single Window Inspection and the Common Control Area at their main international points of entry and will finalize the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation soonest.

During his two days in Bangkok, Hun Sen had a bilateral meeting with Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday morning, and on Saturday morning, the two prime ministers co-chaired the 2nd Thailand-Cambodia Joint Cabinet Retreat (JCR).

"Both sides placed high emphasis on further strengthening cooperation in a wide range of issues of mutual interests, covering political, security, and economic and social issues," the statement said.

They also witnessed the signing of five documents, including a Joint Declaration of the 2nd JCR, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the development of certain cross-border control facilities, a MoU on labor cooperation, an agreement on the employment of workers, and an agreement on cooperation between business councils.

It was Hun Sen's first official visit to Thailand in more than a decade after diplomatic relations between the two neighbors have improved.

In 2008, 2009 and 2011, the two countries exchanged gunfire over a territorial dispute near Cambodia's World Heritage-listed Preah Vihear Temple, with soldiers killed and injured on both sides. Enditem