PHNOM PENH: The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Ros Soveacha, has stated that the project to establish Vietnamese courses at the Royal University of Phnom Penh is within the realm of establishing international academic institutions and policies. He said it was no different from the existing Thai, Japanese, Korean, French and Chinese subjects offered at the university.

The Spokesperson said, "I would also like to emphasize that Cambodia and Vietnam are cooperating to strengthen the higher education sector, such as the cooperation that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has with all friendly countries that has been contributing to the promotion of education, youth and sports in a practical way."

He said that Cambodia has had a cooperation agreement in the field of higher education with Vietnam since 2001.

The Spokesperson's statement was in response to criticism that had been made over the news that the Royal University of Phnom Penh of Cambodia planned to establish Vietnamese programs and courses, saying this was an example of Vietnam’s influence on Cambodia.

Under the Vietnam Education Project, the Royal University of Phnom Penh will offer three bachelor's degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Vietnamese, a Bachelor of Arts in Vietnamese for translation and a Bachelor of Arts in Vietnamese for business communication.