Bilateral Relation of India and Cambodia Reviewed
Story and photos by Chhay Sophal
Cambodia News & New Youth
Phnom Penh (27 Jan 2014): The Indian embassy in Phnom Penh on Monday reviews the relationship between India and Cambodia as the two Asian nations share their common history, culture and even the people and hope that they will continue for further close cooperation.
Speaking in his welcoming at the dinner reception at Intercontinental hotel to mark the 65th Republic Day of India, Ambassador Dinesh K. Patnaik said the bilateral trade and economic relation of the two countries has grown up while India is helping Cambodia with the fields of health, education, capacity building, and other sectors, including restoration work of temples in Angkor Wat area and building cultural museum in Siem Reap province. The reception was attended by Cambodian Parliamentarians, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affair and International Cooperation, senior government officials, international diplomats and journalists.
The ambassador also said some 120 Cambodians are sent every year for training in India for their role in capacity building and human resource development.
Last week, a press release from the Indian embassy said around 1,100 Cambodian officials have so far received training in India in various fields, fully utilized by Cambodia and highly appreciated by the Cambodian government.
It says the training is part of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme the Government of India launched on the 15th September, 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance to 158 developing nations.
India-Cambodia relations are a product of Hindu and Buddhist religious and cultural influences, emanating out of India in the 4th-6th century AD, to various parts of South-East Asia. According to the information from the Indian embassy, the pervading influence of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Indian architecture, is borne out by the structures at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphuon, and other religious and historical sites in Cambodia. This is glorious testimony of the profound cultural and social basis of India-Cambodia historical relationship.
After the 15th century, according to the embassy, the contacts between India and Cambodia decreased significantly, under the onslaught of European powers seeking colonies in South- East Asia, and thereafter in South Asia. Indo-Cambodian bilateral relations in the post Second World War period commenced with the Indian independence in 1947.
“This was the period of overthrow of colonialism in many countries of Asia and Africa. The first real and meaningful contact between India and Cambodia began at the forum of the Non-Aligned Movement”.
- Indian dancers perform at the dinner reception hosted by the Indian Embassy on 27 Jan 2014 at Intercontinental hotel to mark the 65th Republic Day of India.