15th anniversary of Cambodia-China Friendship Association marked in Cambodia

The 15th anniversary of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association was celebrated here Saturday evening under the auspices of Cambodian National Assembly President Heng Samrin.

The celebrations, which included speeches, reception, and arts performance, was attended by about 500 people including senior Cambodian officials, Chinese embassy officials, business people and youths.

Addressing the event, Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia- China Friendship Association, said the celebrations were aimed to further promote and strengthen the friendly relationship between the two countries.

"Over the past 15 years, the association has worked closely with Chinese state's institutions, Chinese associations, and private organizations to boost Sino-Cambodian ties and to promote people-to-people relations," he said.

Ek Sam Ol, who is also the president of the Constitutional Council of Cambodia, vowed to further strengthen and expand ties and cooperation between the two countries for mutual benefits.

He said the association has adhered very strictly to the one- China policy.

Meanwhile, he also highly spoke of the excellent Sino-Cambodian diplomatic relation, which was forged by former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1958.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo hailed the association for its active contribution to broadening China- Cambodia relations.

"In the past 15 years, the Cambodia-China Friendship Association has actively contributed to developing China-Cambodia ties, particularly through promoting cultural cooperation, people- to-people relations, and youth-to-youth contact," she said.

She said that China was pleased to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation with Cambodia. Endi