The Pracheachon Newspaper of the governing Cambodian People's Party (CPP) on January 6 ran an editorial underlining the significance of the joint victory of Vietnam and Cambodians over the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which was declared on January 7, 1979.

The article stated that on that day , with the support of the Vietnamese volunteer army, the army of the Khmer United Front for National Salvation overthrew the genocidal regime, saving Cambodia from catastrophe.

Over the past 35 years, Cambodian people have recovered and rebuilt their country from the cinders left by the Khmer Rouge, the article said.

It stressed that Cambodia is proud of its achievements and the country now plays an active role in the region and the international arena.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodian Government is implementing the second period of its development quadrilateral strategy.

In recent years, the country saw the stable development of the macro economy, with economic growth in 2012 reaching 7.3 percent and a per-capita income of 973 USD. In 2013, Cambodia ’s GDP growth and per-capita income hit 7.6 percent and 1,036 USD, respectively.

The victory of the CPP in the fifth National Assembly general election o n July 28, 2013 allowed the political party to continue running the country for the next five years, proving that a majority of the Cambodian people still believe in the Party’s leadership, the article argued.

In its conclusion, the article said Cambodian people from every walk of life will unite together to protect the achievements made by the country over the last 35 years and they will not forget the historical significance of January 7, 1979 .

On the 35th anniversary of the victory over the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime (January 7, 2014), the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent based in Phnom Penh spoke to Khiev Kola, a reporter who has worked for many Cambodian and international press agencies and is now a political commentator for Cambodia’s CTN Television.

According to Kola, the brutal regime led by Pol Pot is one of the most bloody and destructive the world has ever seen, with over 2 million Cambodian civilians kille d in only the three years from 1975-1978, almost all social facilities decimated and religious and scientific activities prohibited.

Kola stated that the Cambodia people were saved from the regime by the Vietnamese Volunteer Army, closing the most heartbreaking chapter in Cambodia ’s history and opening a new era of rebuilding and growth.

He also said that Vietnamese volunteer soldiers arrived in Cambodia in response to the appeal of the Khmer United Front for National Salvation and the dire need of the Cambodian people.

With their presence in Cambodia to 1988, Vietnamese soldiers also helped prevent the Pol Pot regime from coming back and assisted Cambodian people to restore the country, Kola said.

Looking ahead to the future of a relationship that first began diplomatically in 1967, Kola predicted that increasingly sustainable development will be recorded through the agreements of the the two neighbours.

In Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s rec ent visit to Vietnam , the two sides signed a series of bilateral cooperation agreements towards increasing two-way trade turnover to 5 billion USD within the next five years.

Kola expressed his believe that with the fine relations between the two countries, the signed agreements will be implemented effectively.

Apart from bilateral ties, Cambodia and Vietnam also support each other in regional and international integration. Both countries are members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations and many other international organisations and forums.-VNA