(VOVworld) – Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered a speech Tuesday praising the victory over the Khmer Rouge regime on January 7, 1979. He said that had it not been for that day, there would not have been a Cambodia today.

General Pham Van Tra (L), former Vietnamese Defense Minister, hugs General Tea Banh, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, in 2012. (Photo: VNN)

More than 1,000 soldiers, teachers, students, and local people attended a ceremony last Saturday to commemorate the 36^th anniversary of the victory over the Khmer Rouge in S’vay Rieng Province. At the ceremony, Cambodian Defense State Councilor Meang Samphon hailed the event, saying that the victory opened a new chapter in Cambodia’s history and that Cambodia will always be grateful to the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died for Cambodia’s liberation.