Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association Visit Siem Reap’s Khmer – Vietnam Association

The delegation of the Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association was led by Nguyen Thi Thanh, Head of the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Board for Deputy Affairs and President of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association, as head of the delegation on August 3 visited the Khmer – Vietnam Association in Siem Reap province.

This is an activity of the delegation during the visit to Cambodia, at the invitation of Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association headed by its President Men Sam An, who is also Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, from August 1 to 4.

During this visit to Cambodia, Vietnamese delegates met a delegation of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association headed by its president Men Sam An.

At the meeting of the two friendship associations, the sides informed each other of their operations and conditions of their respective nations. They signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for 2022 – 2027.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, Head of the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Board for Deputy Affairs and President of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association talks with people of the Vietnamese origin residing in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. Photo: NDO

During the visit to the Khmer – Vietnam Association in Siem Reap province, the delegation informed the host a number of contents about the situation of socio-economic development in Vietnam.

They also introduced the association’s activities in the past time, including many achievements contributing to the development of bilateral relations, especially in 2022 Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Year and the two countries celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Thanh stated the Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association will work closely with its Cambodian counterpart to preserve, protect, and promote the nations’ faithful friendship, traditional solidarity, cooperation and mutual assistance toward peace, stability, and prosperous development.

The delegation also shared with the difficulties and losses of Vietnamese people in Cambodia over the past 2 years when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, and at the same time listened to their wishes.

On behalf of the delegation, the President of the Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association emphasized that the Party and State always consider overseas Vietnamese as an important and inseparable part of the Vietnamese ethnic community. The Government and people always care, support and create maximum favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community living in Cambodia.

The difficulties and problems of the Vietnamese community in Cambodia are always discussed by high-ranking Vietnamese delegations with the Cambodian high-level delegation for concern, support, and solutions to solve their difficulties, help them stabilize life, integrate with the host country.

Thanh hopes that the Vietnamese community in Cambodia will continue to unite and help each other to rise up in life, contribute to the development of the host country, promote the cooperation relations between Vietnam – Cambodia; people continue to obey the laws of Cambodia, care and encourage their children to go to Khmer and Vietnamese languages classes, and integrate into the local culture.

The delegation also assessed the important role of the Khmer – Vietnam Association in supporting the Vietnamese community in Cambodia, enhancing legal status, and ensuring living conditions for people of Vietnamese origin. The association will be a community solidarity center, always standing side by side to support people in all aspects of life.

Thanh said that the Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association always makes efforts, listens to people’s opinions and under the conditions of the Association will accompany the Consulate General of Vietnam, the Khmer-Vietnam Association to encourage, support for people. At the same time, it is hoped that each Vietnamese person in Cambodia and Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia will be a messenger and a bridge to further develop and elevate the special relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia.

The Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Association also took the occasion to give gifts to people in seven northwestern provinces of Cambodia, worth USD 10,000 to support and care for their lives.

The two friendship associations sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for 2022 – 2027. Photo: VNA

Vietnamese delegates paid courtesy calls to President of the National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin, President of the Senate Samdech Say Chhum, and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

Cambodian leaders thanked Vietnam for its aid to Cambodia during its struggle for national independence, getting rid from the Pol Pot genocidal regime as well as its current national building cause.

They underscored the need to deepen the countries’ good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive collaboration, and long lasting relations.

PM Hun Sen said it is necessary to educate the younger generations on fostering such ties and to spare no effort in completing the demarcation and marker planting on the mainland and solving the issue of the legal status for the people of the Vietnamese origin in Cambodia.

Previous, Vu Thi Bich Ngoc, spouse of the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, and spouses of the Vietnamese Ambassador and diplomats to Cambodia on August 2, visited and presented gifts to students of the Khmer-Vietnam friendship primary school in Prey Veng province.

The school is a symbol of the friendship between Vietnam’s Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap and Prey Veng, which helps to preserve Vietnamese traditional culture.

Since its inception 10 years ago, the school now has 220 students divided into seven classes, with five for the Vietnamese language and two for the Khmer language.