HCM City exchange programme strengthens friendship among Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia: Lao and Cambodian students learn about history of Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

In her remarks, President of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Tran Kim Yen emphasised that the traditional friendship among Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia has been nurtured by generations of the three countries’ leaders and people and become solid stepping stones for them to stand side by side with one another to promote national development in each country and their special neighbourliness and friendship.

She highlighted the meaningfulness of the programme “Vietnamese families with Lao and Cambodian students in HCM City”, via which people-to-people exchanges among the countries has been enhanced while local residents and Lao and Cambodian students here gain a better understanding of the countries’ traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation.

The programme is a chance for students from the two neighbouring countries to experience the daily life of Vietnamese families. It is also meant to support the students who have to live faraway from their families, the official added.

This year, the exchange among the families engaging in the programme takes place from August 15 to 19 with such activities as a gathering with the Vietnamese families adopting Lao and Cambodian students; a visit to the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, where over 160 Lao and Cambodian students are learning at; experiencing the life of Vietnamese families; and visits to some scenic landscapes and historical relic sites of Vietnam.

In 2023, there are 67 Vietnamese families, 91 Lao students, and 14 Cambodian students participating the programme, which attracted 33 Vietnamese families and 48 Lao and Cambodian students last year.