The participating delegation of MR5 of the VPA led by MR 5 Commander, Lieutenant General Nguyen Long Cang, and the Cambodian side led by Deputy-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Army and Commander of Cambodian MR 1, General Huot ChHieng, reviewed the results of the 2017 bilateral cooperation program, and discussed the 2018 cooperation plan. The event also drew the participation of representatives of the Foreign Relations Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense.
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Representatives of the two sides signing the 2018 cooperation program |
Addressing the conference, General Cang highly appreciated the cooperation between the two sides in implementing the signed cooperation program for 2017. Particularly, the two sides closely coordinated with each other in embracing the situation, exchanging information and conducting joint patrols to maintain security along the shared borderline.
During the year, the Vietnamese side provided both material and spiritual supports for the Cambodian side, cementing the close friendship and unity between the two sides. Meanwhile, the Cambodian side provided favorable conditions and effective supports for the Vietnamese side to collect and repatriate remains of fallen Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts, who had laid down their lives in Cambodian MR 1 to save the Cambodian people from the genocidal regime led by Pol Pot and his fellow perpetrators.
This year, the two sides will focus on exchanging information and conducting joint patrols, preventing hostile forces from using the territory of one side to sabotage the other while strengthening the bilateral cooperation, friendship and unity; enhancing people-to-people diplomacy; and together building a shared borderline of peace, friendship and development.
The Vietnamese military region will also provide military training for Cambodian military personnel and welcome Cambodian military officers and their families to Vietnam for business, holiday or medical treatment.
The Vietnamese side will continue to send medical missions to provide free health checkups and medicines for people in the Cambodian Northeastern provinces while the Cambodian side will provide further supports for Vietnamese teams in charge of collecting and repatriating remains of fallen Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts in Cambodia.
The two sides agreed to coordinate closely in drawing up joint plans for search and rescue missions and natural disaster relief efforts in case of emergencies or natural disasters along the shared border.
Speaking at the meeting, General ChHieng thanked the Vietnamese side for the warm reception and good organization of the conference.
Regarding the Cambodian military region’s performance in the 2017 cooperation program, he affirmed that the Cambodian side actively implemented the contents of the signed cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese side, particularly bolstering coordination in exchanging information and dealing with issues arising on time and effectively.
Military units and civilian organizations as well as people from the two sides continuously promoted good neighborliness, actively prevented illegal border crossings and propaganda activities of bad elements to undermine the friendship between the two countries.
He highly appreciated the Vietnamese side for investing in infrastructural facilities for the Cambodian military region headquarters and its subordinate units, generously providing training courses as well as free holiday trips and free health services in Vietnam for Cambodian military officers, saying that these moves had left positive impressions on the Cambodian armed forces and the people of Military Region 1, in general.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides signed the 2018 cooperation program, agreeing to boost bilateral relations and cooperation, and join efforts to build a shared borderline of peace, friendship and development.
Translated by Thu Nguyen