In his opening address, Cambodian Minister of Trade Cham Prasit said that the fair has helped to introduce high-quality Vietnamese goods to Cambodian consumers, mostly agricultural products, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, and electrical appliances.

The holding of the annual fair in Cambodia is one of the effective measures being used to boost bilateral trade relationship, said Mr Prasit, adding that in the Jan-Aug period alone, two-way trade turnover reached US$790 million. He affirmed that Cambodia’s stable economic development, together with efforts from both governments, will boost trade relations between the two countries and achieve the target of a bilateral trade turnover of US$2 billion by 2010.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang said the fair will help to cement good relations between the two countries in the fields of economics, trade and investment. As both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they will create the best favourable conditions for each other to promote trade cooperation in the region and the rest of the world.

A number of trade activities will be held in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province during the fair, which will last until October 17.