VOV delegation in Cambodia.

40 years ago, a VOV delegation led by Huynh Ngoc An arrived at Cambodia to support the Phnom Penh radio station. The delegation members worked days and nights to learn about the operation of the Phnom Penh radio station, which was totally different from that of the Voice of Vietnam back then, before providing training sessions for the Phnom Penh radio staff. Dao Tien Ngo, a member of the delegation, said: "The language barrier made it very difficult for us to train the Cambodian technicians on Analog technologies. We then decided to use English to communicate and after many days of training and practicing, we successfully completed our training course for Cambodian technicians and broadcasters."

The Vietnamese delegation also helped setting up and arranging loudspeakers on major streets in Phnom Penh. Each member of VOV delegation pulled the wires and hung the loudspeakers up at every major street of Phnom Penh. VOV then sent more delegations to the Cambodian station to help train their editors and producers. Nguyen Van Khiem, an editor of VOV’s French Division, worked as a specialist at the Cambodian radio station from 1980 to 1984. "Every night we went to bed with the fear that the remaining Pol Pot troops would come back. We even had to evacuate at midnight as the Cambodian troops exchanged fire with Pol Pot soldiers," said Mr. Khiem. 

VOV editors prepared scripts and then translated them into French, English, Laos, Thai, and Vietnamese for daily broadcasts on the Cambodian national radio. Thanks to the support and training of VOV staff, the Cambodian radio broadcasters could produce broadcasts in different foreign languages later on. Mr. Nguyen Van Khiem recalls: "We guided Cambodian reporters on how to write scripts, organize and record a show. We also shared with them lessons on journalism and radio management."

During a visit to Vietnam late last year, Cambodia’s Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith spoke highly of the valuable support of the Vietnamese Government through VOV in terms of technology, personnel training, and experience sharing, adding that the assistance has created a solid foundation for the Cambodian ministry to develop.

"Cambodia’s effective communication activities are partly attributed to Vietnam’s support. We hope that both sides will continue boost bilateral cooperation and exchanges between the two countries’ broadcasting sectors. Many municipal and provincial radio broadcasters of Cambodia want to cooperate with and learn experiences from Vietnam," said Minister Khieu Kanharith.