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Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh |
Reporter: Could you tell us about the significance of the exchange program to the authority and people of An Giang?
Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh: The Vietnam-Cambodia Border Friendship Exchange is one of the major foreign affairs events of An Giang. It makes more sense as local people are celebrating the 131st birth anniversary of later President Ton Duc Thang and the province is enjoying noticeable achievements in foreign investment and socio-economic development.
All leaders and people of Vietnam are happily welcoming the Cambodian delegation participating in the event. We hope that the program will leave a good impression on Cambodian guests as well as help delegates from Central agencies of the two countries understand both advantages and difficulties facing people living on either side of the shared borderline. With their understanding of the situation along the border section, they would give advice to the governments of the two countries on good policies, facilitating border trade of both sides and economic development of the Vietnamese province of An Giang and Cambodian provinces of Takeo and Kandal.
Reporter: What has An Giang done to promote the message of the exchange program “Unity, connectivity for development?”
Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh: In fact, the Vietnamese province of An Giang has done a lot to promote unity and connectivity for development between the two sides as it has recently signed twinning agreements with the two Cambodian provinces across the shared border.
Earlier in 2016, An Giang also signed a similar deal with the Lao province of Champasak.
The An Giang Provincial People’s Committee directed the local police and military units as well as branches and organizations to conduct various exchanges and twinning activities with Cambodian counterparts.
Particularly, the provincial border guard and police forces of the two sides have meeting in every six months to review the border situation, share information, discuss approaches to jointly deal with issues of mutual concern and promote coordination in preventing and fighting crimes, including transnational drug trafficking. The provincial border guard force has held 180 regular meetings with the Cambodian border management force, and conducted 770 joint border patrols and built five twinning residential areas over the past 10 years. The Vietnamese border guard force also provides monthly scholarships, each worth VND 500,000, to 23 Cambodian students in need as well as often conducts activities in support of Cambodian people living on the other side of the shared borderline.
Reporter: You have just mentioned charity activities toward Cambodian people on the other side of the border. Could you elaborate on these activities?
Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh: The An Giang Provincial Vietnam Father Front Committee has actively mobilized local businesses, organizations and people to give donation to Cambodian people over the past years. In 2018 alone, the committee and dignitaries of Kim Tien pagoda in An Giang presented 300 packages of gifts, worth VND 300,000 each, to Cambodian people living in Takeo and Kandal provinces. The committee and dignitaries of Kim Tien and Huynh Dao in An Giang also handed VND 210 million to 70 households who had suffered big losses in a fierce fire in Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, the provincial health sector has actively implemented the Greater Mekong Sub-region Health Security Project. During the past six months of 2019, Vietnamese hospitals provided free health checkups for 3,276 Cambodians and free treatment for 1,588 Cambodian inpatients. An Giang also offered scholarships to Cambodian students. At this point, 10 Cambodian students are studying at universities or colleges in An Giang.
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The management of trade activities at Tinh Bien International Border Gate |
Reporter: Finally, what do you think the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Friendship Exchange 2019 can facilitate the province’s Project “To develop border trade to 2025 with a vision toward 2030?”
Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh: The An Giang Provincial People’s Committee approved the Project “To develop border trade to 2025 with a vision toward 2030” on October 31, 2018. With this project, An Giang targets to increase exports through its border gates by 7%-8% and reach US$ 400 million in 2020 while its border exports surge 9%-10 per year in the period 2021-25 and value at US$ 650 million by 2025, and keep rising 11%-12 per year in the period 2025-30 and reach over one billion US dollars by 2030.
It can be noted that the good relationship between the two sides can generate various benefits to both sides. The Vietnam-Cambodia Border Friendship Exchange will obviously promote friendship between the two sides, facilitate border security, foreign investment on both sides of the shared border and border trade.
Reporter: Thank you for the interview.
Interviewed by Le Van Chuong
Translated by Thu Nguyen