A woman tends to a stall selling canned food at the Cambodia-Ho Chi Minh City Expo 2011.

The trade fair kicked off at the Diamond Island Convention Centre in Phnom Penh yesterday, and is set to continue until Sunday.

Featuring some 300 booths displaying a variety of Vietnamese products, officials billed it as a bid to foster economic and political ties between the countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh, and other government officials from both nations visited the trade fair.

Men Sam An said the exposition was part of an attempt to boost trade between the two nations.

“Both countries will have the chance to exchange ideas and experiences and seek business opportunities,” she said yesterday.

Last year, Cambodia exports to Vietnam totalled US$277 million, from $186 million in 2009, while Vietnam’s exports to the Kingdom increased some 36 percent to $1.552 billion, from $1.146 billion in 2009, according to previous data from the Vietnam Embassy’s Trade Promotion Office in Phnom Penh.