Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Le Minh Hung hosted a reception in Hanoi on October 13 for Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Gen. Tea Seiha, who is in Vietnam for the annual meeting of the Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao defence ministers and a joint military exercise among their armies.
PM Hung welcomed the visit, describing it as a vivid manifestation of the longstanding tradition of bilateral solidarity, friendship and close ties between Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as among the three armies.
Recalling positive impressions of his first official visit to Cambodia as head of the Vietnamese Government, the PM said he is confident that Cambodia will continue to maintain its peace and stability, achieve prosperity and further elevate its global role and standing under the reign of King Norodom Sihamoni and the leadership of the Senate, National Assembly and Government.
He praised the two defence ministries for proactively carrying out the understandings and agreements reached by high-ranking leaders, keeping national defence-security ties a key pillar of the relationship.
The Vietnamese Government consistently offers full support to increasingly close, substantive and effective collaboration between the two defence ministries and armies, he said.
He proposed that both sides step up exchanges on strategic issues and attach importance to personnel training, particularly specialised and each other’s language training. They should also speed up land border demarcation and marker planting, border management, and connectivity of border infrastructure and gates. He urged the two sides to make it easier for companies, including defence firms, to expand cooperation and keep coordinating the search for, collection and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during wartime.
Tea Seiha, in reply, congratulated Vietnam on its broad achievements in recent years under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He also praised PM Hung’s recent official visit to Cambodia, saying it created new impetus to comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.
He thanked Vietnam for its support in training and medical treatment in recent years. Cambodia will work closely with Vietnam to carry out cooperation agreements and plans between the defence ministries, particularly those concerning policy consultations, logistics cooperation, and exchanges between young officers, he said.
The two sides will also coordinate preparations for Friendship Year 2027, which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties. The activities are meant to educate the public, particularly the youth, about their good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability, he said./.
