NEW DELHI: King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia came here last week on his first state visit, to mark the 70th anniversary of Cambodia’s diplomatic relations with India. President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet in the King’s honour and on his arrival at Rashtrapati Bhawan he was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour.
At the banquet, President Murmu introduced King Sihamoni to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also called on the King.
The King paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and laid a wreath at the memorial. 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 civilisational bond between us. Today that is expressed in cooperation in heritage conservation, demining, water conservation and socio-economic projects,” the External Affairs Minister wrote.
Dhankhar discussed with the King multiple areas of bilateral relations including capacity building, conservation of architectural monuments, defence cooperation including de-mining and parliamentary co-operation.
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 Ministry of External Affairs said.
Trade between the two countries stands at $366 million and is growing. Indian investments in Cambodia are estimated at around $115 million primarily in pharmaceuticals, automobiles and mining.
King Sihamoni is accompanied by a 27-member high-level delegation, including the Minister of Royal Palace, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other senior officials.
