NEW DELHI: The two commanders of the Cambodian and Indian military forces met to discuss bilateral work last Friday, 3 February 2023, and decided to sign new terms of reference on cooperation between the two countries’ armies.

The signing ceremony took place on Friday afternoon between Lt. Gen. Hun Manet and Indian Army Chief of Staff, General Manoj Pande, in New Delhi, India.

The newly signed terms of reference document is aimed at strengthening and expanding the long-term friendship between the Indian and Cambodian armies, and can also be considered a new step in promoting practical cooperation activities between them more actively. In particular, this agreement opens the door to direct communication between the two armies to allow for more fruitful achievements.

General Manoj Pande welcomed the strengthening and expansion of bilateral cooperation in military relations, while Cambodia and India also enjoy good relations in various other areas, in addition to defense.

In turn, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet praised the close cooperation between the two armies in the past, and also thanked the Indian side for always assisting the Cambodian army, especially in capacity building by providing training in a variety of disciplines.

It should be noted that Lt. Gen. Hun Manet's current visit to India is the first official visit made by the Cambodian Army Commander under the initiative to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic ties since 1952.

During the visit, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet also met with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense of India, Giridhar Aramane, the Deputy National Security Adviser of the Republic of India, Vikram Misri, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of India, General Anil Chauhan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and the Vice President of the Republic of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar.

In addition to discussing Cambodia-India relations, the two military leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues, emphasizing the importance of building mutual trust as well as the willingness to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The two sides aim to ensure peace, stability and development as common goals.