President Phúc meets Cambodian King, Prime Minister

PHNOM PENH — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc spoke with King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni in Phnom Penh on Tuesday as part of his official visit to the Southeast Asian country at the King’s invitation.

The meeting took place after a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Palace.

Expressing his warmest welcome to the Vietnamese President, King Sihamoni said he highly valued the visit, which conveyed the Vietnamese Government’s and President Phúc’s appreciation towards the close friendship between Việt Nam and Cambodia.

He thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for helping Cambodia overthrow the genocidal regime, and for always supporting his country during its development in modern times.

Phúc said he was happy to be back in Cambodia as Việt Nam’s President, and thanked the King for the invitation and the thoughtful reception. He congratulated Cambodia on its achievements under the wise reign of King Sihamoni, which laid a solid foundation for it to become a middle-income country by  二0 三0, and a high-income one by  二0 五0.

He emphasised that the Vietnamese Government and people always appreciate, value and remember the help and support of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, King Sihamoni, other Cambodian leaders and its people to Việt Nam during its fight for independence, and nowadays throughout different stages of development.

The two leaders were elated that the friendship and connections between the two countries were constantly consolidating and getting better. Despite being affected by the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, new, positive developments were recorded in their multifaceted cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, security, national defence, investment, trade, economics, transport, and education. Their close collaboration and support to each other to fight the pandemic once again reflected the tradition of mutual affection and care between the two nations, they said.

They also said celebrations would be held in their respective countries at the beginning of next year to mark the  五 五th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

President Phúc passed on Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s regards to King Sihamoni and invited the King to visit Việt Nam at the earliest time possible.