Also attending were: General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army; Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Bui Thanh Son, Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister; and leaders of ministries and branches of the two countries.
Tay Ninh is a border province in the Southeast region, with a particularly important geo-economic and political position, located on the main axis of the East-West economic corridor, and is the gateway connecting the southern economic region with the Kingdom of Cambodia and ASEAN countries.
The province has a border of more than 368km, bordering 3 provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia (SvayRieng, Prey Veng and Tboung Khmum) with 4 international border gates (Moc Bai, Xa Mat, Tan Nam, Binh Hiep), 4 main border gates, 13 secondary border gates, 3 border gate economic zones (Long An, Moc Bai, Xa Mat); has 1 export processing zone, 59 planned industrial parks with a total area of over 16,800 hectares, and 82 industrial clusters with an area of over 4,421 hectares.
Tan Nam border gate is located in the border marker section 131-132, the People's Committee of Tay Ninh province decided to open a secondary border gate on December 31, 2009 and has been operating smoothly and trading after Tay Ninh province invested in building and putting into use the Tan Nam-Meun Chey Friendship Bridge on November 30, 2014.
By 2017, implementing Resolution No. 92/NQ-CP of the Government of Vietnam on approving the policy of upgrading Tan Nam sub-border gate into an international border gate, Tay Ninh province urgently completed the procedures and on October 25, 2024 started construction of the project on an area of 24 hectares with 5 construction items, constructing 18 design packages according to international border gate standards; contractors have made efforts to mobilize thousands of engineers and workers with a spirit of urgency, the construction project ensures safety, quality and ahead of schedule, ready to go into operation.
The border gate is designed in harmony with the natural landscape and local culture, creating a space for sustainable development and symbolizing the precious traditional friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Cambodia.
With the advantage of geographical location, good neighborly, peaceful and friendly relations with three provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia, along with a system of large-scale and methodical border gates, Tay Ninh fully exploits the potential and economic advantages of the border gate, creating new growth momentum, creating overall momentum for the entire border line.
This will promote cooperation and comprehensive development in the fields of investment, trade and tourism so that Tay Ninh province can become a transit center for goods between Cambodia and international ports in Ho Chi Minh City with the Southeast region, the Mekong Delta and vice versa; at the same time, it will promote cultural exchange, people-to-people diplomacy, consolidate, cultivate and deepen the traditional friendship, solidarity and good neighborliness between Vietnam and Cambodia and Tay Ninh province with the provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia in particular. The opening ceremony of the Tan Nam-Meun Chey international border gate pair continues to mark further cooperation and friendship between the two provinces and the two countries.
On the basis of the good friendship between the two countries, for many years, international border gates along the Vietnam-Cambodia border have played an important role in connecting the two economies; creating favorable conditions for the circulation of goods, businesses to trade, expand cooperation, and people of the two countries to visit relatives, work and study.
Thanks to the active efforts of both countries in improving procedures, upgrading border infrastructure, expanding local economic cooperation and strengthening business connections, bilateral trade turnover in recent years has always been maintained at an average of about 10 billion USD/year; in particular, it reached 10.4 billion USD in 11 months of 2025 (up 12.7% over the same period in 2024) and is expected to reach 12 billion USD for the whole year of 2025.
The opening of the pair of international border gates has opened up new development opportunities for the two countries, especially serving rapid and sustainable growth, bringing happiness to people in the border areas of the two countries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his joy at witnessing an event of great significance: officially opening a new trade gateway and adding a solid bridge of friendship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam and Cambodia are two close neighbors, with adjacent mountains and rivers, both in the lower Mekong River region; both peoples have many similarities, both originating from a rice civilization with a long history in the Southeast Asian region.
Over the nearly six decades since the official establishment of diplomatic relations, overcoming the ups and downs of history, the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship of “good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability” has steadfastly overcome many challenges and has been continuously nurtured, consolidated and developed.
The Vietnamese and Cambodian people see each other as blood brothers, sharing the good times and the bad, helping each other even in the difficult times of fighting for and maintaining independence in the past; in the process of building and developing the country today, we stand side by side to build a foundation, maintain independence and freedom, bring prosperity and happiness to the people, and fight together against the genocidal gang of Pol Pot - Ieng Sary against humanity right after Vietnam liberated the South and reunified the country.
The Prime Minister expressed that we are very pleased to see that in recent years, the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship has continued to develop strongly, substantially and effectively in all areas. Political trust between the two countries has been constantly consolidated and strengthened. Defense and security cooperation has continued to be strengthened and plays a pivotal role. Cooperation in education, health, labor, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange has become increasingly in-depth and effective. In particular, economic-trade-investment cooperation has developed impressively, in which border trade has been a highlight in recent years.
On this occasion, on behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, the Prime Minister would like to express his sincere thanks to Samdech Thipadei, Prime Minister Hun Manet, the Government, ministries, branches, authorities and people of Cambodia in general and Prey Veng province in particular, for their unanimity, support and close coordination with Vietnam to complete the upgrading of this Border Gate.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the inauguration ceremony of the Tan Nam-Meun Chey international border gate pair today clearly demonstrates the spirit of trust, solidarity, close and effective cooperation between the two governments of Vietnam and Cambodia.
In the coming time, to ensure the smooth and effective operation of Tan Nam-Meun Chey International Border Gate, the Prime Minister requested relevant ministries, branches, agencies and localities of the two countries to continue to coordinate closely, focusing on the following "5 enhancements":
Firstly , strengthen closer coordination in border management, ensure security and order, resolutely combat and prevent cross-border crimes (gambling; smuggling, trade fraud, illegal transportation of goods, weapons, and banned substances across the border; fraud, human trafficking, etc.); periodically organize joint patrols, promptly share information, and handle arising incidents; promote friendly exchange models and twinning between the border protection forces of the two countries.
Second , it is necessary to strengthen the simplification of procedures, digitalize customs clearance, and build smart border gates between the two countries to minimize time and costs for businesses and people; at the same time, improve the capacity to manage and control the exchange of goods and people transparently and effectively.
Third , strengthen infrastructure connectivity and border economic space, promptly complete the planning for the development of transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, electricity infrastructure, and border gate connections; create conditions for businesses of the two countries to invest in developing logistics, warehouses, and border trade centers; and study preferential policies to promote import and export through this new border gate.
Fourth , strengthen regional connectivity and local cooperation, especially between Tay Ninh province and Prey Veng in building socio-economic development plans associated with border gate potential; promote cooperation in health, culture, education, trade, and tourism; promote people-to-people exchange; support people in border areas to improve their lives.
Fifth , strengthen the role and connection of businesses and industry associations of the two countries in proactively seeking cooperation opportunities and expanding investment; complying with local laws, ensuring product quality and social responsibility; maximizing advantages in agricultural products, processing, and logistics services; increasing investment in production, business, and on-site export.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the Vietnam-Cambodia border is not only a territorial demarcation line but also a bridge of special, long-term, and strong exchange, friendship, and cooperation in the spirit of close neighborliness and deep, strong attachment between the two countries and peoples.
The inauguration of the Tan Nam-Meun Chey International Border Gate today will create a strong driving force for the two countries to soon complete the demarcation and marker planting for 16% of the unfinished border sections; at the same time, research and further develop other pairs of international border gates on the Vietnam-Cambodia land border, towards the goal of soon reaching 20 billion USD in bilateral trade turnover as agreed by the two countries' senior leaders.
There is a Vietnamese proverb that says “Trade opens the way, prosperity opens the way”, we believe that Tan Nam-Meun Chey International Border Gate will become a model international border gate leading in digital transformation, smart, civilized, modern, bringing prosperity, warmth, happiness to people in the border area, contributing to making the Vietnam-Cambodia border area truly become a “security belt - friendship bridge - growth engine - people's support” of the two countries and contributing to strengthening the environment of peace, stability, cooperation and rapid and sustainable development in the region.
The Prime Minister wished the Tan Nam-Meun Chey International Border Gate to always operate stably, safely, smoothly and effectively; and wished that the good neighborly relations, traditional friendship, comprehensive and long-term sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia would develop more strongly and firmly.
For his part, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet stated that this event is a testament to the close ties between Cambodia and Vietnam in an atmosphere of solidarity, traditional friendship and mutual trust, thereby contributing to turning the border area of the two countries into a peaceful and stable border, trading goods, services, and tourism; promoting national economic development and the welfare of the people of the two countries in general and the two provinces of Tay Ninh and Prey Veng in particular.
The Prime Minister encouraged ministries, sectors and localities of both sides to continue to coordinate closely to develop appropriate strategies and specific plans to create a flow of goods, services and business activities, especially in high-potential areas such as agriculture and export processing industry; and at the same time, fight against cross-border crimes.
The Prime Minister also encouraged the two countries' ministries and sectors to promote discussions to include this border gate in the list of border gates in accordance with the Agreement on transit goods, as well as the Protocol on the implementation of the Agreement on road transport.
Prime Minister Hun Manet stated that, in fact, this Opening Ceremony has shown another historic achievement in the development of relations and cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia with the desire to turn the border area into an area of opportunity for the people of our two countries.
In the coming time, the two countries will have more international border gates, and many accompanying infrastructures will be invested and upgraded to better serve production and business activities, increasingly better connecting the flow of investment, businesses, agricultural products, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges across the border.
The Prime Minister deeply thanked the Government, Prime Minister and people of Vietnam for always preserving and nurturing the good cooperative relationship and supporting Cambodia in all fields in the spirit of good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability, for the interests of the two countries and peoples.
As two neighboring countries, Cambodia and Vietnam will continue to maintain this good traditional friendship and close cooperation for generations to come.
* Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Cambodian Prime Minister cut the ribbon to inaugurate the pair of international border gates in the middle of the Tan Nam-Meun Chey friendship bridge.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/tang-cuong-ket-noi-ha-tang-va-khong-giant-kinh-te-bien-mau-viet-nam-campuchia-post928650.html
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