The assessment was made by Uch Leang, Acting Director of the Department of Asian-African and Middle Eastern Studies at the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), in an article published in Khmer Times on November 13.
Uch Leang, who is also President of the Cambodia Alumni from Viet Nam Association, wrote that Cambodia and Viet Nam occupy a distinctive position within the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), reflecting their historical connections with the French language and Francophone culture. Today, both countries contribute to the Francophone community’s presence in Southeast Asia and provide important links between the region and the wider Francophone world.
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(Photo for illustration: daibieunhandan.vn) |
At the summit, To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President of Viet Nam, is expected to lead a high-level Vietnamese delegation. The visit underscores the importance Viet Nam attaches to its relations with neighboring Cambodia and reaffirms its commitment to the Francophonie as a platform for promoting dialogue, mutual understanding, and collective responses to shared challenges in an evolving international environment.
Cambodia became a full member of the OIF at the 5th Francophonie Summit, held in Grand-Baie, Mauritius, in October 1993, following its participation as an observer at the 4th Summit in Paris in November 1991. This accession marked an important milestone in Cambodia’s international integration, opening new avenues for multilateral engagement and the diversification of its foreign relations. Through its participation in the Francophonie, Cambodia has progressively strengthened its international partnerships and expanded cooperation in education, science, culture, and human resource development, while seeking to advance its broader socio-economic development objectives.
More than three decades after joining the Francophonie, Cambodia’s hosting of the 20th Francophonie Summit offers a platform to translate its longstanding engagement with the Francophone community into tangible outcomes in education, skills development, cultural exchange, and sustainable development, the expert said.
Meanwhile, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam joined the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), the predecessor of the OIF, in 1979. The 7th Francophonie Summit, held in Ha Noi in 1997, marked a historic milestone as it was the first to take place in Asia. The meeting advanced institutional development within the Francophonie and placed greater emphasis on economic cooperation and socio-economic development, alongside its established priorities of culture, political dialogue, and peace.
Uch Leang noted that Cambodia–Viet Nam relations are grounded in the principles of “Good Neighborliness, Traditional Friendship, Comprehensive Cooperation and Long-term Sustainability.” Building on this foundation, the two countries have opportunities to expand their engagement through multilateral frameworks, including the OIF. Such cooperation could help connect their longstanding bilateral relationship with broader regional and international development initiatives.
He perceived those three areas offer particular potential for translating this diplomatic momentum into tangible outcomes.
The first is strengthening coordination within the Francophonie and other multilateral frameworks. Cambodia and Viet Nam could work more closely with other Francophone countries in Asia to promote shared interests and develop practical initiatives in trade, investment, food security, digital transformation, climate change adaptation and human resource development. Such coordination could complement their existing cooperation within ASEAN and Mekong subregional mechanisms.
The second is developing trilateral cooperation with Francophone partners. By connecting Vietnamese and Cambodian institutions and businesses with partners across the Francophone community, the two countries could explore joint projects in agricultural modernization, food processing, education, healthcare, technology and green development. Partnerships of this kind could mobilize complementary expertise, broaden access to international markets and create additional opportunities for capacity-building.
The third is exploring Cambodia-Viet Nam-Francophone value chains. Cambodia’s agricultural resources, Viet Nam’s processing and manufacturing capabilities, and the logistics and market networks available through Francophone partners could provide a foundation for cross-border production partnerships. Joint initiatives could focus on processing agricultural products, improving storage and transport infrastructure, meeting export standards and accessing markets in Europe, North America, and Africa. Their feasibility would depend on commercial demand, investment conditions, regulatory requirements and the competitiveness of the resulting products.
These opportunities acquire additional significance as Cambodia and Viet Nam prepare to commemorate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2027. Linking this anniversary with cooperation through the Francophonie could help broaden the relationship beyond bilateral exchanges toward more coordinated engagement in multilateral institutions. It would also provide an opportunity to strengthen educational partnerships, youth exchanges, research collaboration and business networks, ensuring that the relationship delivers benefits that can be experienced by future generations.
The writing concluded that the value of Francophone cooperation will depend not only on diplomatic commitments but also on the ability of both countries to turn shared aspirations into practical initiatives. By aligning their historical ties with contemporary development priorities, Cambodia and Viet Nam can use the Francophonie as an additional channel for strengthening bilateral relations, expanding international partnerships and contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Source: VNA