The Vietnamese leader made the remark during his meeting with two Cambodian deputy prime ministers and co-ministers of national defence, Gen. Tea Banh and Gen. Nhek Bunchhay, and his delegation in Ha Noi on Dec. 21.

"The defence ministries of the two countries should boost exchange of visits and further cooperate in implementing the border treaty by continuing with the planting of border milestones, the delineation of borderlines and maintenance of peaceful and stable borders," said President Luong.

He called on the national defence ministries from the two countries to actively engage in poverty alleviation programmes for people in border areas.

Regular exchanges of high-level visits and the recent signing of supplements to the treaty on State border demarcation have proved the two countries' determination to strengthen neighbourliness, friendship and long-term cooperation, the President said.

For their part, the Cambodian generals pledged to boost the search for remains of Vietnamese soldiers who were killed in action in Cambodia on their voluntary missions as a sign of the Cambodian people's gratitute to Vietnamese volunteers.

The two Cambodian Deputy Prime Ministers and Co-Ministers of National Defence also briefed President Luong on concrete measures to speed up the progress of the border treaty as an outcome of their talks with a delegation of Vietnamese Ministry of Defence also on Dec. 21.

The talks concluded with a consensus by the two sides on further exchanges of military delegations and conducting of joint patrols on the sea, plus further cooperation in searching for and repatriating remains of Vietnamese volunteers and experts killed in Cambodia during wartime.

Host and guest agreed to develop bilateral relations in the principles of neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive and long-term cooperation in the interest of peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world as a whole.

The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Defence Minister Gen. Pham Van Tra, who welcomed his Cambodian counterparts at an official ceremony early in the morning of Dec. 21 and hosted a party in honour of the Cambodian delegation in the evening./.