Vietnam, Cambodia enhance defence links

At a bilateral meeting held in Phnom Penh on December 22, the two ministers pledged to effectively carry out existing defence and security agreements, improve the efficiency of border protection and management, improve existing cooperation mechanisms and strive to search, unearth and repatriate remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia.

Tea Banh expressed his thanks for the strong support and assistance that  generations of leaders and people of Vietnam have given to Cambodian people in the past and at present.

Cambodia will always bear in mind the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers’ assistance to the Cambodian people in liberating Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge genocide regime in 1979, he said.

He told Giang that his nation has decided to reopen its economy since November after COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee next year, Tea Banh expressed a desire to visit Vietnam to learn from its experience in organising the biggest sport event in Southeast Asia.

For his part, Minister Giang hailed the neighboring country’s economic development, especially in urban infrastructure.

He suggested both nations jointly hold a border exchange next year on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hun Sen’s national salvation journey at his stopover X-16 in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.
Giang underlined the need to continue holding drills against non-traditional risks, search and rescue exercises, intensifying discussions on holding Vietnamese and Khmer languages to the two countries’ trainees.

On the occasion, Minister Tea Banh invited Minister Phan Van Giang to pay an official visit to Cambodia in the time ahead.