Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Nghĩa, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) , held talks with Cambodian counterpart Lt. Gen. Hun Manet on Monday morning. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

HÀ NỘI — A delegation of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) led by Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, is making an official visit to Việt Nam.

Following an official welcome for the Cambodian delegation on Monday morning, Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Nghĩa, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) , held talks with Lt. Gen. Hun Manet.

Nghĩa welcomed the Cambodian guests to Việt Nam in the context the two countries are holding various activities to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries (June 24, 1967-2022) and the Việt Nam -Cambodia Friendship Year 2022.

He congratulated the Cambodian People’s Party for its landslide victory in the communal election last June.

Nghĩa said he believed the visit by Lt. Gen. Hun Manet would help create a new impetus for the cooperation between the two armies and contribute to further promoting the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive, sustainable long-term cooperation between the two countries.

He noted that the two armies had coordinated in the successful organisation of many significant events during the Việt Nam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2022, particularly the ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the journey to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime and the first Việt Nam - Cambodia border defence friendship exchange.

The two sides had also actively exchanged delegations, especially those at high level, intensified training cooperation in accordance with their respective needs and capacity. Their military zones and border guard forces had shared information, conducted joint patrols and friendship exchanges, thus timely addressing arising problems, contributing to strengthening friendly relations between the two countries’ armies and people.

The Vietnamese officer also congratulated the Cambodian Defence Ministry and the RCAF High Demand for the successful organization of military and defence conferences of the ASEAN. He affirmed Việt Nam's support of and coordination with Cambodia in holding other events during the year Cambodia serves as Chair of ASEAN in 2022.

Lt. Gen. Hun Manet said considering their close proximity, Cambodia and Việt Nam should continue to work together to get ready to respond to non-traditional security challenges and foster their solidarity and friendship.

The two sides agreed to work with each other to enhance the effectiveness of their joint efforts to fight cross-border crime. Military zones and border guard forces should maintain information sharing mechanisms, stay ready for responding to natural disasters, diseases and non-traditional security problems, and work to prevent and control illegal migration, thus ensuring security and safety of areas along their shared borders.

The VPA and the RCAF will also further promote their training cooperation, which they consider a long-term strategic issue.

The same day, the Cambodian delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of the General Staff of the VPA and Deputy Defence Minister, Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Tân Cương. — VNS