Land Boundary Demarcation Protocol between Vietnam and Cambodia take effect

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn co-chaired the 18th annual meeting of the Vietnam - Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation during a virtual event held on December 22.
December 23, 2020 | 10:46
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Land Boundary Demarcation Protocol between Vietnam and Cambodia take effect
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh (front, right) hands over the ratification document to Cambodian Ambassador Chay Navuth in Hanoi on December 22. Photo: VNA

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn co-chaired the 18th annual meeting of the Vietnam - Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, reported VOV.

The Joint Committee conducted a review and evaluation of the implementation process relating to the contents previously agreed upon at the 17th meeting held in Phnom Penh in 2019. Despite being negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the ministries and sectors of both nations have redoubled efforts to strengthen result-oriented co-operation.

The two sides, therefore, used the platform to discuss ways to continue expanding the scope of bilateral co-operation across a variety of fields in the face of numerous difficulties posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic. They also pledged to make every effort in order to promote comprehensive co-operation as a means of offering mutual support in terms of economic, cultural, scientific, and technological development, thereby bringing about benefits to citizens of both countries.

At the end of the meeting, the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn signed the memorandum on the agreement of the meeting.

Under the agreement, the 19th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Commission will be held in 2021 in Cambodia.

Land Boundary Demarcation Protocol between Vietnam and Cambodia take effect
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh delivers the opening remarks at the online meeting on December 22. Photo: VNA

Later on the same day, Deputy PM Minh and Sokhonn, on behalf of the two countries' leaders, co-hosted a document exchange ceremony for the ratification of the Supplementary Treaty in 2019, in addition to the Protocol on the Demarcation and Marker Planting of the Land Boundary.

During the event held via video conference, the two countries have exchanged documents that approve the Supplementary Treaty 2019, along with the Protocol on the Demarcation and Marker Planting of the Land Boundary between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Kingdom of Cambodia.

With the exchange of the ratification documents, the 2019 Supplementary Treaty and the protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting, which were signed on October 5 last year and recognized the result of the Vietnam-Cambodia land border demarcation and marker planting, about 84 percent of the total workload, officially took effect from December 22, 2020.

According to VNA, the 2019 Supplementary Treaty and the protocol’s entry into force is considered a big success for both countries as they hold great significance during more than 36 years of handling land border-related issues between the two countries, helping to lift bilateral relations to a new height and reflecting the motto of “good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability” as agreed on by their senior leaders.

Land Boundary Demarcation Protocol between Vietnam and Cambodia take effect
Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn (second, left) hands over the ratification document to Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Quang Minh in Phnom Penh on December 22. Photo: VNA

That these two legal documents came into force demonstrates the resolve, goodwill, and efforts by both Vietnam and Cambodia in jointly dealing with common border issues.

The 2019 documents, along with the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of National Boundaries and the 2005 Supplementary Treaty, will serve as the fundamental legal framework for the management, protection, and development of the Vietnam-Cambodia land border in the new context, thereby firmly safeguarding security, defense, and social order and safety in border areas and helping to foster development cooperation, friendship exchange, and improvement of local living standards.

This will provide the basis for building the Vietnam-Cambodia land border into a border of peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development, thus contributing to the reinforcement of ASEAN’s solidarity and the promotion of the bloc’s prestige and stature in the world.

In the time ahead, the two countries are set to work closely together to soon hand over and manage the borderline and border markers in conformity with the protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting.

They will also continue negotiations to draft international treaties on the border and border gate management regulations and handle the remaining part of the borderline, about 16 percent, on which border demarcation and marker planting have yet to complete.

Cambodia and Vietnam share a border of 1,270 kilometers. The two countries’ land border runs between ten Vietnamese provinces (Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang, and Kien Giang) and nine Cambodian provinces (Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratié, Tboung Khmum, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kandal, Takeo, and Kampot).

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