Opinion Piece by H.E. Samheng Boros, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister, Kingdom of Cambodia
As neighbours, Cambodia and Vietnam share more than geography. We share a region, a responsibility to our people, and a genuine opportunity to build a future defined by peace, progress, and practical cooperation. In today’s shifting global economy, that opportunity has never been more visible. If both sides continue working with trust, openness, and common purpose, raising bilateral trade to USD 20 billion is not a distant ambition. It is a credible destination.
This is not simply an economic target. It is a reflection of confidence in what two neighbouring nations can achieve when they choose to grow together.
A Relationship Measured in Numbers
The data tells a compelling story. Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Vietnam reached USD 11.33 billion in 2025, representing an 11.7 percent increase compared to 2024. What stands out is the balance within that figure: Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam totalled USD 5.66 billion, up 18.4 percent, while imports from Vietnam reached USD 5.67 billion, rising 5.7 percent. This near-symmetry reflects a relationship that is genuinely two-way, one where both economies are finding real value in each other.
The trend runs deeper than a single year. In 2024, total bilateral trade had already reached USD 10.1 billion, a 17.5 percent jump from 2023. Growth in the first quarter of 2025 came in at USD 3.2 billion, up 10.2 percent year-on-year. By the first nine months of 2025, land border trade alone accounted for USD 5.9 billion, up 15.5 percent. These are not sporadic gains. They are part of a consistent and accelerating trajectory.
Vietnam has also emerged as one of Cambodia’s most important investment partners, with over 210 active projects valued at more than USD 2.9 billion, concentrated in agriculture, energy, building materials, and logistics. And in April 2025, both governments formalised this momentum by signing the Bilateral Trade Promotion Agreement for 2025–2026, which introduced zero-tariff preferences across 28 tariff lines for qualifying Cambodian goods.
The Real Gap and What It Means
At USD 11.33 billion, bilateral trade sits just over halfway to the shared goal of USD 20 billion. The gap, approximately USD 8.7 billion, is not a discouraging shortfall. It is, in practical terms, a map of where the relationship still has room to deepen. And that room is considerable.
Both economies have structural strengths that do not overlap, they complement. Cambodia continues to develop in agriculture, food production, light manufacturing, and investment-friendly sectors. Vietnam brings strong capabilities in industrial processing, distribution networks, and regional market access. When these strengths are connected, the gap closes not through pressure but through natural economic gravity.
Eight Sectors Worth Watching
Across the forums, agreements, and investment patterns of recent years, eight sectors consistently emerge as the areas where Cambodia–Vietnam trade and cooperation carry the most depth and momentum:
- Modern agriculture and agro-trade
Cambodia’s rubber, cashew, and agricultural products are already among the top exports to Vietnam, and the agri-food corridor between the two countries continues to attract business interest on both sides
- Food processing
There is growing cross-border engagement in value-added food production, with Cambodian SMEs actively partnering with Vietnamese processing firms
- Logistics and transport
Vietnam ranks among Cambodia’s most critical transit and logistics partners; provinces like An Giang, Tây Ninh, and Long An are emerging as key nodes in the shared supply chain
- Renewable energy
Vietnamese investment in Cambodian energy projects is active and expanding, reflecting both countries’ push toward sustainable infrastructure
- Digital technology and fintech
Digital transformation and cross-border e-commerce were highlighted at multiple business forums in 2025 as a frontier with significant untapped potential
- Tourism
Both governments agreed in early 2026 to boost cooperation in seaside and border-province tourism, recognising the sector’s role in people-to-people ties
- Telecommunications and finance
The February 2026 Joint Statement specifically named telecoms and banking as areas of complementarity and investment priority
- Education and human resources
Cooperation in training and human capital development underpins long-term productive ties between the two economies
Trade That Reaches People
Behind every figure in a trade report is a person’s livelihood. A farmer in Kampong Cham finding a buyer across the border. A small food processor in Phnom Penh expanding its reach into Vietnamese retail. A young logistics worker whose job exists because two neighbouring economies decided to connect their supply chains. This is where the data becomes human.
The story of Cambodia–Vietnam trade in 2025 is, at its core, a story of two nations growing more economically intertwined with each passing year, not because they were told to, but because the complementarity is real, the demand is there, and the relationship has earned enough trust to support it. The USD 20 billion goal reflects that reality, and the numbers suggest the path is already well under way.
Cambodia values this friendship deeply, and the steady growth of our economic ties with Vietnam stands as one of the most encouraging developments in our region’s recent history. The foundation is solid. The momentum is real. And the people on both sides of this partnership have every reason to look ahead with confidence.
