Vietnam News Agency and AKP sign new cooperation agreement

Leaders of the national news agencies of Việt Nam and Cambodia exchange commemorative gifts. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Minh

HÀ NỘI — According to a Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reporter in Phnom Penh, within the framework of President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Cambodia from July 12-13, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Cambodian News Agency (AKP) renewed their professional cooperation agreement.

On July 12, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the VNA delegation, led by General Director Vũ Việt Trang, held a meeting with AKP General Director Sokmom Nimul and signed a new professional cooperation agreement between VNA and AKP.

In her remarks at the meeting, General Director Vũ Việt Trang emphasised that the visit to Cambodia reflects the desire to enhance practical and effective cooperation in information and communication between VNA and AKP, meeting the development needs of the press in the digital age. This cooperation is in line with the vibrant cooperation activities between the two countries at all levels, contributing to strengthening the good relationship between Việt Nam and Cambodia.

Despite not being able to meet directly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooperation activities between the two agencies have been effectively implemented, adapting to the situation and capabilities of each agency. General Director Vũ Việt Trang also expressed gratitude to the AKP leadership for their effective support of the VNA’s representative agency and reporters in Cambodia.

General Director Vũ Việt Trang informed AKP leadership about VNA’s development, focusing on enhancing the application of modern journalism technology in various stages of the reporting process and improving the capabilities of journalists in the digital era.

She highlighted that in the current strong digital transformation trend, VNA is implementing various solutions to diversify information products, leveraging rich data sources, and developing new journalistic products that combine text, photos, audio, graphics, and video. VNA is also working on different information distribution channels to reach the public on multiple platforms.

In addition to disseminating information gathered by reporters in 63 provinces and cities across Việt Nam and 30 cities in 28 countries worldwide, VNA also uses information from about 40 partner news agencies and international media organisations, including AKP. This ensures timely and accurate information about Việt Nam and regional and global events is provided to both domestic and international media systems and directly to the public.

AKP General Director Sokmom Nimul highly appreciated the effective cooperation between VNA and AKP. He emphasised that VNA is a reliable friend and partner that consistently provides official information to AKP. The development of AKP today cannot be separated from the support and assistance from VNA. The relationship between the two agencies and the two countries is based on friendship, close ties, and mutual support.

General Director Sokmom Nimul expressed confidence that the meeting and signing event would strengthen the bond between the two agencies, particularly enhancing the leading roles of the two national press agencies and contributing to strengthening Việt Nam-Cambodia relations.

General Director Sokmom Nimul noted that AKP is currently focusing on reforming in a positive, proactive, and comprehensive spirit of the Ministry of Information and the Royal Government of Cambodia to improve work efficiency and professional operations, especially in terms of technology and human resources. On this basis, AKP hopes to continue receiving material, technical, and training support from VNA, especially in the field of television.

After reviewing the significant milestones in the comprehensive and close cooperation between VNA and AKP since 1979, based on VNA’s proposal, the leaders of the two agencies agreed to consider the possibility of conducting meaningful activities to recognise the contributions of the special cooperation between VNA and AKP in their development paths, towards celebrating the 80th anniversary of VNA’s establishment (September 15, 1945 – September 15, 2025) and the 50th anniversary of AKP’s establishment (December 3, 1978 – December 3, 2028).

The leaders of the two agencies agreed to propose that the competent authorities of both countries consider the possibility of VNA and AKP coordinating to implement a project to enhance bilateral cooperation capacity within the framework of Việt Nam-Cambodia inter-governmental cooperation in the near future.

The General Directors of VNA and AKP affirmed the necessity of closer and more regular cooperation in verifying doubtful information and providing accurate and timely information to the domestic public and the international community to avoid fake and false information that could affect bilateral relations.

After discussing and agreeing on cooperation contents, General Director Vũ Việt Trang of VNA and General Director Sokmom Nimul of AKP signed the new professional cooperation agreement between VNA and AKP. The agreement includes information exchange, technical support, assistance for representative correspondents and special envoys, delegation exchanges, journalism skills updates, Vietnamese and Khmer language internships, and coordinated viewpoints at press forums where both sides participate.

On this occasion, the VNA delegation also presented film shooting equipment for news production to AKP, aligning with the current development focus of the Cambodian national news agency.

During the visit, General Director Vũ Việt Trang and the VNA delegation also visited and worked at the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia.

General Director Vũ Việt Trang expressed her sincere thanks to Ambassador Nguyễn Huy Tăng and the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia for their continuous attention, guidance, and companionship with VNA, especially with the representative correspondents of VNA in Phnom Penh in performing their political tasks.

Ambassador Nguyễn Huy Tăng highly appreciated VNA’s role and the activities of the VNA representative agency in Phnom Penh, affirming that the information published by VNA about bilateral relations is always accurate and in line with the country’s foreign policy.

During the visit to Cambodia from July 12-13, General Director Vũ Việt Trang and the VNA delegation also had a working lunch with Cambodian Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra, discussing some development orientations and media management in the context of the strong development of digital media today, and visited and worked with VNA representative correspondents in Phnom Penh. — VNS