ME - Vietnam and Cambodia signed investment agreements and contracts worth 6 billion USD at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 26 to promote Vietnamese investment in Cambodia.

Under the documents, Vietnam will invest in power generation, food processing, fertiliser production, rubber plantation and bauxite mining in Cambodia .

Two-way trade between the two countries has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 1.7 billion USD in 2008, up 40 percent against 2007.

Vietnamese businesses have invested in over 60 projects in Cambodia with a total capital of nearly 900 million USD, making Vietnam among the top three foreign investors in the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, co-chairmen of the conference, welcomed a joint initiative to host the conference as a practical move to promote bilateral cooperation in investment and trade.

PM Hun Sen said Cambodia is calling for foreign investment in its strong areas such as agro-forestry, industry, infrastructure, product processing for export, mining and tourism.

Cambodia will create a favourable investment environment for Vietnamese businesses to operate in the country, PM Hun Sen assured PM Dung and nearly 600 officials and business people attending the event.

PM Dung hailed the efficiency of Vietnamese-invested projects in Cambodia . He said, however, that the results have not yet matched the potential of both countries and not lived up to their people’s expectations.

He recalled high-level talks and meetings between the two countries’ top leaders who had agreed to take additional measures to broaden cooperative ties. They vowed to raise two-way trade to 2 billion USD in 2010 and increase Vietnamese investment in Cambodia to 6 billion USD in the coming years.

At the event, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Cambodian Development Council signed a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.

The Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and the Cambodian Minister of Industry, Mining and Energy signed the minutes of their meeting regarding bauxite exploration and exploitation in the Cambodian Mondulkiri province.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) signed deals to provide financial services to Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia .

Also during the event, a certificate of operation was granted to the association of Vietnamese investors in Cambodia, and investment licences were given to a number of Vietnamese businesses.