At the event (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – A good neighbourly relationshipwill create favourable conditions for Vietnam and Cambodia to increase theirmutual benefits and firm foundation for security in each country and in theregion as well as the world, scholars said at an international seminar on bilateralties in Phnom Penh on June 12.
Addressing the seminar, Professor-Academician Som Somoni,Director of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Royal Academyof Cambodia, said the half-a-century relationship between the two countries hasgone through both good and bad times, but the two countries are inseparable.
He stressed that Cambodian people always remember thesacrifice that Vietnamese people have made to save Cambodia from the genocidalKhmer Rouge regime.
Therefore, the two nations should continue to strengthenmutual trust and strive for sustainable, equal and peaceful development alongtheir border, in order to reduce and minimise any risks to bilateral ties, theprofessor said.
In her opening speech, Secretary of State at the CambodianMinistry of Interior Chou Bun Eng stressed that during the past 50 years, both nationshave shared the will to build a good neighbourly relationship, without which itwould be difficult for the two countries to compete against other countries inthe world in the context of globalisation.
She said the seminar, which was jointly held by the Asiaresearch centre and the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities under theRoyal Academy of Cambodia in coordination with the Institute for Southeast AsiaStudies under the Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences, is significant incollecting experts’ opinions on the importance of Vietnam-Cambodia ties andsolutions to further enhance the relations.
Professor Nguyen Sy Tuan, former Director of the Institutefor Southeast Asia Studies, was of the view that the Vietnam-Cambodia ties haveentered a new stage with qualitative changes to meet the needs of each countryas well as to suit the new situation in the region and the world.
He suggested that besides state diplomacy, the two countriesshould promote relations through other channels such as Party-to-Party ties,people-to-people exchange, and economic-cultural-educational cooperation, thusbringing 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, attractednearly 100 social science researchers and dozens of press and media agencies inCambodia.-VNA
