King of Cambodia Sihamoni Officially Visiting the Slovak Republic

By an official welcoming ceremony in the court of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni started his official visit to the Slovak Republic.

Following the talks of His Excellency with the President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gašparovič voiced his pleasure to host the royal guest and mentioned the affection Norodom Sihamoni nourishes for Slovakia as he had studied for many years in the former Czechoslovakia and at that time he had visited Slovakia several times.

President Gašparovič welcomed the wish of the King to come to Slovakia again to get to know the country better than the programme of his first official visit enables to. The talks of the statesmen included also the issues of intensifying the mutual cooperation in the field of economy, culture, science and particularly education. In this connection, they spoke mainly about wider possibilities for Cambodian students to study at Slovak universities. „His Excellency expressed his desire to introduce the culture of his nation to Slovakia. I believe it is a good idea. Folklore festivals held in Slovakia are at a high level and present a number of various ensembles from abroad. I offered his Excellency the possibility of attending and giving performance at our festivals by Cambodian performers.”

Speaking flawless Czech, His Excellency Norodom Sihamoni emotionally thanked for the invitation from the Slovak head of state to visit the Slovak Republic. „I am very much pleased that I can be here as a representative of my country,” said Sihamoni and added that Slovakia has always been and is a part of his second homeland.

He uttered his conviction that mutual deeper knowledge would benefit both countries. “The most sincere wish of mine is that my trip to Bratislava would help to develop friendly relations and cooperation between the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia.“