Cambodia has asked Vietnam to increase their bilateral trade volume to US$20 billion in the near future. The request was made by H.E. SUN Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister, and First Vice President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), accompanied by H.E. TUY Ry, Ambassador of Cambodia to Japan, while he was holding a bilateral meeting on May 23 with his Vietnamese counterpart H.E. Lee Minh Khai, on the sidelines of two-day Nikkei Forum 29th Future of Asia, in Tokyo, Japan. On the occasion, both sides shared the same views about close and fruitful bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Vietnam so far, and reaffirmed to further deepen the cooperation for mutual benefit of both countries. Taking the opportunity, H.E. SUN Chanthol gave detail information to the Vietnamese side about Funan Techo Canal project with 26 months of feasibility study by 48 senior professors, technical experts and world-class engineers. The Cambodian DPM also mentioned about the ability to control the quantity and rate of fresh water flow to the sea which has no environmental impact in the country and neighbouring countries. However, once the construction completed, the Funan Techo Canal would balance environmental sustainability and ecological system, establish all kinds of mixed habitats, and prevent floods from Cambodia into Vietnam as well, to name a few, he added. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse