Viet commie greeted by Hochimonk Tep Vong

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visits Most Venerable Monk Tep Vong yesterday at the Unalom pagoda. — VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung

Party leader visits senior monks in Phnom Penh

December, 08 2011
VNS (Hanoi)

PHNOM PENH — Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday laid wreaths at the Independence Monument and the Viet Nam Friendship Monument in the Cambodian capital city.

Later, Trong paid courtesy visits to Tep Vong, the Supreme Patriarch of Buddhism in Cambodia.

He also visited Most Venerable Monk Tep Vong at Unalom pagoda and Most Venerable Monk Bukri at Botum pagoda.

During the meetings, Trong thanked Cambodian Buddhists for their fine feelings towards the Vietnamese people and spoke of the age-old friendship between the two nations.

He spoke highly of the contributions made by Cambodian and Vietnamese Buddhist monks to the cause of national independence and construction as well as in building great national solidarity, reconciliation and development.

Trong also visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh and briefed the embassy staff and Vietnamese nationals living and working in Cambodia about his visit.

He asked the Vietnamese people living in Cambodia to unite and support each other in their daily work and life.

To mark the occasion, Trong presented US$50,000 to the Learning Fund for Cambodian Children of Vietnamese origin. He also asked the Vietnamese business community to contribute to the fund.

The Viettel Cambodia (Metfone) and the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) in Cambodia each donated $50,000 to the fund.

In his visit to Metfone, a Vietnamese company operating in Cambodia, Trong praised the achievements gained by the company in the last four years.

He said the company’s fibre network has covered all Cambodian districts and 95 per cent of the country’s communities, providing mobile phone service to more than 98 per cent of Cambodians.

He also visited Siem Reap, a northwestern province of Cambodia, yesterday.

At a meeting with the province’s Governor, Sou Phirin, the Vietnamese Party leader said he was pleased with the fine relations between Siem Reap province and many Vietnamese localities, including HCM City .

He thanked the Siem Reap authorities and people for their close coordination and assistance in searching for and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese soldiers who died in Cambodia, as well as in creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese people living in the country.

With 2012 defined as the “Viet Nam-Cambodia Friendship Year,” the two sides planned to strengthen education on the traditional relationship among their people, especially the younger generations, he said.

General Secretary Trong expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Cambodian People’s Party, the Siem Reap people, with their heroism, dynamism and creativity, would make the province more prosperous. It deserves to be a major economic and cultural centre of Cambodia .

On the occasion, the Vietnamese Party leader presented $50,000 as relief aid to Siep Reap people to overcome the consequences of recent floods.

Siem Reap Governor Sou Phirin thanked Viet Nam for helping Cambodia escape genocide. He said that the two sides signed a number of agreements in the process of building a friendly and peaceful border, which strengthened cooperation and development between the two countries.

The Governor expressed his wish that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Cambodian People’s Party, the two sides would make efforts to boost the development of the Cambodia-Viet Nam relationship.

On the same day, as part of the visit to Cambodia by General Secretary Trong and Viet Nam’s high-ranking officials, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Home Affairs Sar Kheng.

The two sides affirmed their intention to strengthen cooperation in security and defence, information exchange, and fighting cross-border crimes such as trafficking of women and children, drug smuggling and gambling.

Foreign Minister, Pham Binh Minh also met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hor Nam Hong.