Vietnam and Cambodia reached consensus on co-operation orientations at border areas at the central and local levels during their eighth meeting on border province co-operation and development, which took place in Ho Chi Minh City on October 28. Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung told the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the event that the two countries agreed to continue to work on policies and legal frameworks in trade, finance, transport, telecommunications, health care, national defence and security. They would also support each other in education and training at border localities, facilitate trade along the border and work to better manage the border. They also consented to create optimal conditions for people-to-people exchanges and economic development in border localities, said Trung. According to the official, Vietnam and Cambodia would build and implement agreements reached on border demarcation and marker planting while raising public awareness about the work. At the same time, they would co-ordinate with each other to counter extreme elements that aim to sabotage the relationship, in the interests of the two countries’ peoples, especially border residents. Trung said the joint communiqué issued at the meeting hailed the efforts of border authorities and residents in this regard. However, he noted, the document also pointed to a range of infrastructure difficulties, particularly with roads to auxiliary border gates and limited resources. It also stressed the need to draft more agreements to implement co-operation plans, the deputy FM said. The official described the meeting as an important co-operation mechanism that helped build relations between the two countries, as well as their border provinces. The event, together with the 14 th session of the Vietnam-Cambodia Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Co-operation, has proven the two countries’ efforts to boost their relationship, Trung stressed. Thanks to such mechanisms, the collaboration between Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces has made big strides and brought about pragmatic outcomes, he noted. Meanwhile, Prum Sokha, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior said meeting participants considered all issues, from trade and investment to people-to-people exchange, with special emphasis on economic co-operation. Through the meeting, the two sides gained a deeper understanding about each other and how to address the shortcomings, he affirmed.-VNA