General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Tô Lâm (left) and President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship School in Phnom Penh on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

PHNOM PENH — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship School in Phnom Penh on Friday, part of the Vietnamese leader’s state visit to Cambodia.

Speaking at the ceremony, Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng expressed sincere gratitude to the Government and people of Việt Nam and the country’s Embassy in Cambodia for their coordination and support in building the school, describing the project as highly meaningful for the suburban area of the Cambodian capital.

The Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship School is being built within the campus of the Samdech Techo Hun Sen Dangkor Primary and Secondary School on Street 217. The site was once used as a logistics base of the Vietnamese volunteer troops after Cambodia’s liberation on January 7, 1979, and has later served educational purposes until today.

Given its historical significance and in order to preserve and strengthen the close-knit friendship between the two countries, under the spirit of connecting youth, connecting generations, and connecting the future, the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport decided to rename the school the Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship School.

The school currently has 11 buildings with 54 classrooms, staffed by 135 teachers and administrators and serving about 6,000 students from early childhood to lower secondary levels. With support from the Government and people of Việt Nam, the establishment will be upgraded and added with new facilities to improve infrastructure, modernise the learning environment, and increase student admission capacity.

New construction items include two two-storey multi-purpose buildings and eight three-storey buildings, with around 200 classrooms, two dining halls, and other supporting facilities. The construction period is expected to last between eight and 12 months. — VNA/VNS