The Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association’s chapter in the northern province of Thai Nguyen was officially launched at a congress in the locality on August 7.

The chapter has 417 members who are Vietnamese war veterans and former experts who helped the Cambodian people escape from the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime and made great contributions to their national construction.

It serves as a bridge for strengthening solidarity and mutual understanding between the two nations in general and between Thai Nguyen and Cambodian localities in particular.

Speaking at the congress, Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Hul Pha Ny hailed the establishment of such organisation in Thai Nguyen province, saying that it will help the two governments promote poverty reduction programmes and maintain security and peace in both countries.

The congress adopted the draft statutes of the chapter and elected its 23-member executive board for the 2014-2019 term led by lieutenant colonel Nguyen Duy Quyet, who served in Cambodia from 1970 to 1973.-VNA