Addressing the seminar, Professor-Academician Som Somoni, Director of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the half-a-century relationship between the two countries has gone through both good and bad times, but the two countries are inseparable.
He stressed that Cambodian people always remember the sacrifice that Vietnamese people have made to save Cambodia from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.
Therefore, the two nations should continue to strengthen mutual trust and strive for sustainable, equal and peaceful development along their border, in order to reduce and minimise any risks to bilateral ties, the professor said.
In her opening speech, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Ministry of Interior Chou Bun Eng stressed that during the past 50 years, both nations have shared the will to build a good neighbourly relationship, without which it would be difficult for the two countries to compete against other countries in the world in the context of globalisation.
She said the seminar, which was jointly held by the Asia research centre and the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Royal Academy of Cambodia in coordination with the Institute for Southeast Asia Studies under the Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences, is significant in collecting experts’ opinions on the importance of Vietnam-Cambodia ties and solutions to further enhance the relations.
Professor Nguyen Sy Tuan, former Director of the Institute for Southeast Asia Studies, was of the view that the Vietnam-Cambodia ties have entered a new stage with qualitative changes to meet the needs of each country as well as to suit the new situation in the region and the world.
He suggested that besides state diplomacy, the two countries should promote relations through other channels such as Party-to-Party ties, people-to-people exchange, and economic-cultural-educational cooperation, thus bringing about stability and development for both nations.
The seminar, one of a string of activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Cambodia, attracted nearly 100 social science researchers and dozens of press and media agencies in Cambodia.
Source: VNA