External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday called on Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni who is on his 3-day maiden state visit to India. The king's trip marks the 70th anniversary of Cambodia's diplomatic relations with India. Since arriving on May 29, Sihamoni met India's top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and President Droupadi Murmu, who hosted a banquet in the king's honour.
Upon his arrival at Rashtrapati Bhawan today, King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia was accorded the ceremonial guard of honour. Along with Jaishankar, PM Modi also attended the ceremonial reception of the king.
President Murmu, there, introduced him to Modi, India's Union Ministers and other dignitaries, after which the king paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat in Delhi. He also laid a wreath.
Jaishankar took to Twitter to say that he was honoured to call on Sihamoni on his maiden visit.
"His visit, as our two countries celebrate 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, reaffirms the strong civilizational bond between us. Today that is expressed in cooperation in heritage conservation, demining, water conservation and socio-economic projects," the EAM wrote.
Dhankhar also met with the king today and discussed multiple areas of bilateral relations including capacity building, conservation of architectural monuments, defence cooperation including de-mining and parliamentary cooperation.
India actively assists
Cambodia in capacity building and human resource development through training slots under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme and scholarships under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The nation has also extended grants and concessional loans for developmental projects.
Conservation and restoration of the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Preah Vihar are also being carried out under Indian government funding.
India has extended a grant of $1.5 million for the purchase of de-mining equipment and offered a line of credit worth $50 million for the procurement of defence equipment from it, the MEA said.
Trade between the two countries for FY 2023-23 stood at $366 million and is growing. Indian investments in Cambodia are estimated at around $115 million primarily in pharmaceuticals, automobiles and mining.
King Sihamoni landed in New Delhi on Monday and was welcomed by Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh at the Palam Air Force Station.
He is accompanied by a 27-member high-level delegation, including the minister of the royal palace, the minister of foreign affairs and other senior officials.
The state visit marks the culmination of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Cambodia, which were established in 1952, the MEA said in a statement.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the visit of the Cambodian King was an opportunity to further deepen the civilisational relations between India and Cambodia.
This visit by the Cambodia King is taking place after almost six decades, with the last being that of the current King’s father in 1963.
India and Cambodia enjoy warm and friendly relations marked by civilisational, cultural and economic linkages and deep-rooted people-to-people ties, the MEA statement said.
The multi-faceted relationship is based on shared cultural values, commitment to foster economic growth, collaboration in the fields of defence and security and convergence on regional and global issues, the statement said.
With agency inputs.
