Japan will send 40 referees to Cambodia to help the latter in preparation for the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games to be held in May and June this year, respectively.

The dispatch was made known by visiting H.E. TAKEI Shunsuke, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, while leading a delegation to pay a courtesy call on Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh this morning, according to H.E. Eang Sophalleth, Assistant to the Cambodian Premier.

H.E. TAKEI Shunsuke expressed his satisfaction with the relationship between Cambodia and Japan, which has been elevated from the Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership level and with the bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of military and mine clearance.

For her part, Ms. MINAMINO Yoko, a Japanese famous singer and actor, who is also part of the delegation, recalled that during her visit to Cambodia in 1989 and 2013, she was moved by the warm hospitality of the Cambodian people, and she wrote a song titled “Rainbow for Tomorrow” which described the Cambodian past that she saw firsthand.

This time’s visit, she added, she planned to meet with Cambodian orphans she met during her visit in 1989, and as the goodwill ambassador for 70th Anniversary of Japan-Cambodia Friendship, she will do her best to further deepen the relations and cooperation between both nations.

In reply, Samdech Techo Hun Sen expressed thanks to Japan for the upcoming dispatch of 40 referees to Cambodia and for other assistance, as well as for encouraging Japanese investors to invest in Cambodia.

The Prime Minister also thanked Ms. MINAMINO Yoko for the song “Rainbow for Tomorrow,” which reflects Cambodia’s situation in the past.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press