President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Khuon Sudary and Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn review the guards of honour at the welcome ceremony for the latter in Phnom Penh on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

PHNOM PENH — President of the Cambodian National Assembly (NA) Samdech Khuon Sudary chaired a solemn welcome ceremony in Phnom Penh on Thursday afternoon for NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State, who are on an official visit to the neighbouring country.

Right after the welcome ceremony, the two top legislators held talks.

Earlier, Mẫn and the Vietnamese delegation laid wreaths at the Independence Monument, the Norodom Sihanouk Memorial and the Việt Nam–Cambodia Friendship Monument – a symbol of solidarity and friendship between the two countries – which is to commemorate Vietnamese fallen soldiers who carried out the noble international mission to help the Cambodian people escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime. The Việt Nam–Cambodia Friendship Monument also shows Việt Nam's gratitude to Cambodia for its assistance during the past struggle for national reunification.

Chairman of Vietnamese National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn and President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Khuon Sudary at the welcome ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

The visit, Mẫn's first official visit to Cambodia as Chairman of the Vietnamese NA, holds significant importance, reaffirming the foreign policy set forth by the 13th National Party Congress, which gives high priority to the "good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability" with Cambodia.

During the visit, the Vietnamese top legislator is scheduled to pay a courtesy call to King Norodom Sihamoni; hold talks with National Assembly President Khuon Sudary; pay a courtesy call to President of the Cambodian People's Party and President of the Senate Hun Sen; meet with Prime Minister Hun Manet; visit former NA President Heng Samrin; receive President of the Cambodia–Việt Nam Friendship Association and the Cambodia–Việt Nam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Men Sam An; and attend the inauguration ceremony of the Cambodian NA’s administrative building - a gift from the Party, State and people of Việt Nam.

The visit aims to take Việt Nam–Cambodia relations into a new phase of development, strengthen strategic trust and promote cooperation between the two legislatures. — VNS