Leaders of Cambodia warmly welcome the visit by the Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman, First Vice President of the Cambodian National Assembly Cheam Yeap told the Vietnam News Agency's correspondents in Phnom Penh in an interview ahead of the official visit of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will pay an official visit to Cambodia and attend the 43rd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-43) General Assembly in the country from November 19-22.
Cheam Yeap said the visit of the Vietnamese top legislator demonstrates the importance of the cooperation between the two countries’ law making bodies and their traditional solidarity and friendship, which is growing in depth sustainably across all aspects.
He stressed that the visit would also contribute to further strengthening the comprehensive cooperation of the two countries.
The Cambodian legislative leader highlighted the close and all-sided cooperation between Cambodia and Vietnam in recent years. On the basis of this good relationship, the two legislative bodies have signed a cooperative agreement, creating the condition for the two sides to exchange delegations, he said, citing as an example the official friendship visit to Vietnam by a high-ranking delegation of the Cambodian NA led by its President Samdech Heng Samrin in September this year.
Cheam Yeap thanked the people, Government and Party of Vietnam for financing 25 million USD for the building of the Cambodian NA's new headquarters.
“I am delighted when the heritage of cooperation between the two NAs continues to be upheld and promoted by NA leaders at all levels,” he said.
The legislator stressed that Cambodia supports and appreciates the efforts of the two governments in completing 84% of the land border demarcation and border mark planting workload, and will push for the acceleration of the work towards promptly completing the remaining 16%, thus turning the two countries’ border into a border line of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.
Regarding the East Sea/South China Sea issue, the Cambodian NA fully supports previous decisions of ASEAN as well as those made at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits which just concluded in Phnom Penh, including respecting principles of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1992), he said.
He went on to say that the Cambodian NA fully supports ASEAN’s viewpoint that peace, security and maritime safety in the East Sea should be closely associated with a peaceful environment and development of the region, and that all arising issues in the East Sea should be handled based on international law, UNCLOS and ASEAN principles.
As for the AIPA cooperation, Cheam Yeap thanked Vietnam for its support of Cambodia as the host of ASEAN summits and the AIPA-43.
He welcomed Vietnam’s initiative on establishing groups of young parliamentarians at the previous AIPA General Assembly, adding that the work related to this proposal will take shape more clearly at AIPA-43.
