On the morning of March 18, after laying wreath at the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument in Phnom Penh, General Cuong and his entourage paid a courtesy visit on Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh.
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General Tea Banh (right) receives Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong. |
At the meeting, General Cuong conveyed Defense Minister Phan Van Giang’s greetings to General Tea Banh. He spoke highly of and expressed his belief that as ASEAN Chair 2022, Cambodia will successfully organize ASEAN meetings in general and military and defense meetings in particular.
The Vietnamese chief of the General Staff stressed that Vietnam will closely coordinate with and support Cambodia in its ASEAN Chairmanship Year.
General Cuong hoped the Cambodian Defense Minister will continue to direct the coordination to search, gather and repatriate remains of fallen Vietnamese troops and advisors in Cambodia, and encourage local people to provide information about them and their tombs.
General Cuong also suggested the Cambodian side boost cooperation in ensuring security, building a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development, support solutions to addressing difficulties facing Vietnamese community in the country, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses, including defense ones, to develop production and business.
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Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong reviews the Guards-of-Honor of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. |
The Vietnamese chief of the General Staff hoped that Cambodia will successfully organize the elections of members to commune and district-level councils this year and deputies to the National Assembly next year.
For his part, General Tea Banh sent his greetings to General Phan Van Giang and welcomed the delegation’s participation in the 19th ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting (ACDFM-19) and official visit to Cambodia.
General Tea Banh highly appreciated and thanked the Party, State, people and military of Vietnam for their support for Cambodia and its people in general and for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in particular. He highlighted the important contribution of the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) of Vietnam to Cambodia’s development in recent years.
The Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister confirmed that the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense and its Vietnamese counterpart will work to enhance cooperation, boost delegation exchanges, raise awareness of young generation of the friendship and solidarity between the two peoples and militaries.
He said that Cambodia will continue to create favorable conditions for businesses, including Vietnam’s Viettel Group to boost production and business in the country.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong and Gen. Vong Pisen salute the national flags. |
The same day, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Force General Vong Pisen hosted a solemn reception for General Cuong and the high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation.
During the talks held after the reception, General Vong Pisen warmly welcomed General Cuong and the Vietnamese delegation to Cambodia. He emphasized the meaning of the visit, saying that it demonstrated the friendly cooperation between the two militaries, contributing to reinforcing the traditional relationship between the two countries and militaries.
He expressed deep gratitude to Vietnam for its support to help Cambodia get rid of the Pol Pot genocidal regime, and revive and develop the country.
He highly praised the outcomes of the bilateral defense ties over the years, especially in recent time in search and rescue, collection and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese troops and advisors who laid down their lives in the war in Cambodia, twinning activities, and cooperation between border management forces.
Congratulating the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces on the successful organization of ACDFM-19 in online format, General Cuong underlined that Vietnam will closely coordinate and support Cambodia in its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2022, including the successful hosting of ASEAN and military-defense meetings.
The Vietnamese chief of the General Staff reviewed important achievements in military cooperation over the past year despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the celebration of 44 years of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s journey to Vietnam to seek ways to save his country from the Pol Pot genocidal regime, the inauguration of the complex commemorating PM Hun Sen’s national salvation journey to Vietnam and the ground-breaking ceremony of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship House with financial support from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense.
General Cuong also highlighted the close coordination to ensure security in border areas and at sea, and the implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures to prevent cross-border spread, as well as timely provision of medical supplies in the COVID-19 fight, among others.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong visits Brigade 70. |
At the talks, the two sides agreed to proactively adapt to post-COVID-19 new normal state and comprehensively carry out cooperation contents defined in the cooperation plan for 2022 between the two defense ministries in an intensive, practical and effective manner.
Due attention will be paid to delegation exchange, successful organization of ceremonies to mark 45 years of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s national salvation journey and inaugurate the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship House, and the first Vietnam-Cambodia border defense friendship exchange at the defense ministry level.
The two sides will bring into play the efficiency of information sharing and exchange mechanisms, prevent crime and illegal immigration, effectively respond to natural disasters, diseases, and other non-traditional security challenges.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong talks with Metfone’s staff. |
In addition, they will continue to boost cooperation in training, search and repatriation of remains of fallen Vietnamese troops and advisors, and develop the relations among the militaries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
In the afternoon, General Cuong and the Vietnamese military delegation visited Brigade 70 of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and staff of Metfone, Viettel’s joint venture in Cambodia.
In the evening, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces hosted a banquet for the high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation.
Translated by Mai Huong