PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen and Indian Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar held a bilateral meeting to express their satisfaction with the relations between the two countries and to boost cooperation in politics, economy, education, and culture.

India and Cambodia have had friendly relations for many decades. Prime Minister Hun Sen emphasized that India was the first democratic country to recognize Cambodia after liberation from the Khmer Rouge, following an official visit in 1981.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar agreed with the Prime Minister and said that India is looking forward to the upcoming state visits of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and Lt. Gen. Hun Manet to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Cambodia-India Diplomatic Relations, and to further strengthen bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Hun Sen also thanked the Indian government for providing assistance for human resource development, temple conservations, and agricultural water resource development.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation on Cambodia’s goal towards “A Mine-Free Cambodia by 2025.”

Following the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar presided over the exchange ceremony of four documents: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur for the Digitization of Cambodian Heritage Sites; an MoU between the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia and the Ministry of Environment of India on cooperation in biodiversity conservation and sustainable wildlife management recovery strategies of tigers and its habitat; an MoU between the Ministry of Health of Cambodia and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India on cooperation in the field of health and medicine; and a financing agreement between Cambodia and India for the conservation and preservation of Wat Raja Bo Pagoda paintings in Siem Reap, Cambodia.