Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet this afternoon paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the Thai Senate, during his day-long official visit to Bangkok, Thailand.
On the occasion, H.E. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai warmly welcomed Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet’s official visit, and recalled the good cooperation between the two countries. He was convinced that under the leadership of Samdech Thipadei, the cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand will be further strengthened and expanded.
H.E. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai also expressed his congratulations to Samdech Rathsapheathika Thipadei Khuon Sudary on her appointment as the President of the Cambodian National Assembly, and extended his greetings to Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, former Prime Minister of Cambodia.
For his part, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet praised the good cooperation within the legislative and executive framework between the two countries.
The Cambodian Premier briefed H.E. P
ornpetch Wichitcholchai on the results of his bilateral meeting with his Thai counterpart H.E. Srettha Thavisin, during which both sides agreed to upgrade the level of their bilateral ties from ‘Strengthening Partnership for Peace and Prosperity’ to ‘Strategic Partnership’ and were committed to boost the cooperation between the two neighbouring nations in the sectors of common interest, including trade and investment, energy security, mine clearance, labour, education, tourism, and cross-border crimes.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse
New York: The profound love that Merle Ratner, a left-wing and anti-war US activist who passed away on February 5, gave to Vietnam during her entire life will be always in the hearts of Vietnamese people.
Ratner passed away in a traffic accident in New York on February 5 evening.
Merle Evelyn Ratner was born to a Jewish-American family in New York City in 1956. At the age of 13, she actively took part in the anti-war movement and showed her support for the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. At that time, the public in the US and the world were impressed by a small girl climbing the Statue of Liberty and waving the red flag with a yellow star and slogans calling for an end to the wrongful war.
She used to say that images of the destructive war in Vietnam and the stories about napalm bombs and toxic chemicals killing a large number of people had urged her to take to the streets to do something meaningful to help Vietnam.
Inspired by the sympathies and love for the S-shaped country, Ratner s
ought to read documents and writings about President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and the just struggle of the Vietnamese people. The more she learned about Vietnam, the more strongly she supported the fight for independence, freedom, and national reunification of its people.
To this left-wing activist, the day of April 30, 1975 was not only the day of complete victory for Vietnam but also a happy day of all progressive and peace-loving people around the world.
After 1975, with her stronger love for Vietnam, Ratner campaigned for the normalisation of the Vietnam – US relations and supported many international activities of Vietnam. During 1976 – 1979, she and her husband, Prof. Ngo Thanh Nhan, promoted the establishment of an association of patriotic overseas Vietnamese in the US to call on the US Government to normalise the relations with and lift the embargo on Vietnam.
She used to visit the Southeast Asian country for many times and work with mass organisations, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and
the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.
Ratner was a co-founder and coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) in the New York region. She worked tirelessly to appeal to organisations and individuals to support Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and to the US Government to compensate the victims. Over the past years, she collected tens of millions of signatures via the internet to help Agent Orange victims of Vietnam to launch lawsuits.
Ratner was awarded the “For the Development of Vietnamese Women” insignia in 2010 and the ‘For Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange’ insignia in 2013 in recognition of her enormous contributions.
Jonathan Moore, a lawyer and a board member of the VAORRC, regarded Ratner as a steadfast friend, tirelessly advocating for the rights of AO victims in Vietnam throughout her life. He said she will be remembered by those fighting for dignity and social justice.
Le Thanh Chung, a Vietnamese expatriate in New York, assessed the activist
as being unwaveringly faithful to communist ideals and believing in socialism as the true path to happiness for the people. Notably, Ratner devoted her pure and loyal love to Vietnam, Chung said.
In a recent interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in New York on February 1 on the occasion of the 94th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Ratner once again emphasised the leadership role of the CPV as the decisive factor in all of the nation’s achievements and victories. She affirmed that the CPV has steadfastly pursued the path of socialism and advocated for socialist values worldwide, with Vietnam certain to succeed on the chosen path.
Amidst the constant changes in the world, increasing right-wing nationalism, and increasingly fierce competition among major powers, she believed that Vietnam’s foreign policy of “Four Nos” and “bamboo diplomacy” approach – which means flexible in practice yet unwavering in principles – demonstrate the rightness and help Vietnam ensure peace,
independence and sovereignty, and achieve many meaningful accomplishments./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency