Vice Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee Nguyen Thuc Hien addressing the event. (Photo: VNA)

The event was a chance to further strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between Vietnamese and Cambodian people, while promoting the land, culture and people of Vietnam and Cambodia to each other's residents.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thuc Hien said that the city has attached great importance to traditional friendship and solidarity with Cambodian friends.

Can Tho has supported and coordinated with the Cambodian side to organise many cultural and people-to-people exchange activities together with charity activities, including the provision of free medical check-ups and medicines to locals in Cambodia and Vietnamese Cambodian people hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

At the same time, Can Tho has provided scholarships and created favourable conditions for Cambodian students to study in universities in the city, he added.

He said that recently, the city has sent a delegation to Cambodia to work with the Cambodian Ministry of Home Affairs, Cambodian Royal Army units and localities to further foster solidarity with the neighbouring country and seek new cooperation opportunities with Cambodian partners.

In 2020 and 2021, despite COVID-19 impacts, the partnership between Vietnam and Cambodia has still progressed in all fields from politics, defence, security to economy, trade, investment, culture, education, and local cooperation.

For his part, Cambodian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Sok Dareth spoke highly of the close ties between the two countries through difficult periods of history.

Both countries have made positive contributions to the building of peace and prosperity in the international community, especially the ASEAN Community, of which both countries are members, he said, expressing his delight at the growing bilateral ties.

He said he hopes youngsters from both countries will get closer together for deeper mutual understanding, while being ready to pioneer in implementing historical missions, safeguarding and developing relations between the two countries.

He reaffirmed the commitment to making more efforts to promote and deepen the partnership between the two countries in general and between the Cambodian Consulate General and Can Tho as well as the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association in the city in particular.

On the occasion, the organising committee of a contest exploring the history of the Vietnam-Cambodia relations presented awards to winners.

Since the contest was launched on May 19, it has received 27,658 entries from 14,269 contestants. One first, two second, three third and 10 consolidated prizes were awarded.