The annual trade volume between Vietnam and Cambodia is expected to grow by 27 percent per year to reach 2.45 billion U.S. dollars by 2010, Cambodian official said here on Wednesday.

"There will be significant rise upon the 940 million U.S. dollars strong (of bilateral trade volume) in 2006, which has placed Vietnam as our fourth biggest trade partner," said Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, on the sideline of the one-day Cambodia-Vietnam Business Forum.

"I believe today that we have the opportunity to take one step further and actually develop stronger ties that will in fact see Cambodia and Vietnam build significantly more paths of friendship between our two great countries, so grass will never grow as our trading paths blossom," he told more than 100 participants of the forum, which was also attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.

"We must find ways to enhance the inter-connectivity, boost investor confidence and open up more economic sectors that can operate seamlessly across our economy," he added.

Also addressing the forum, Kam Si Than, Acting Minister of Commerce, said that in 2006, Cambodia imported from Vietnam about 780 million U.S. dollars worth of commodities, mainly including clothes, cable, household plastic products, noodles, electronic spare parts and others.

This was an increase of about 244 million U.S. dollars over 2005, he said.

Meanwhile, he said, in the same year, Cambodia exported to Vietnam around 170 million U.S. dollars worth of products, including rubber, forestry, raw resources for clothes products, tobacco leaves, wooden products and others.

This was an increase of about 13 million U.S. dollars over 2005, he said.

He noted Cambodia's adverse balance of trade with Vietnam and encouraged Vietnamese investors to pour more money into the kingdom.

Source: Xinhua