Siem Reap: On the afternoon of May 28, 2026, at the Apsara National Authority Office, Mr. Xu Yunguo, Party Secretary of Layou Vocational and Technical Training School, Shandong Province, China, led a delegation to meet and discuss with His Excellency Kim Sothin, Deputy Director General of the Apsara National Authority, with the aim of understanding the experiences as well as methods of preserving and restoring ancient temples in the Angkor region, which are valuable world cultural heritages of Cambodia and humanity as a whole.
The meeting was held in a friendly and fruitful atmosphere, with the two sides exchanging many ideas and experiences regarding the conservation of ancient structures, human resource training, and technical cooperation between Cambodia and China.
On that occasion, Mr. Xu Yunguo expressed great interest in the conservation work of the Angkor temples that the Apsara National Authority has been carrying out with great responsibility and professionalism. He said that the Angkor region is not only an important heritage for Cambodia, but also a valuable cultural asset for the entire world that needs to be preserved and preserved for future generations. The Party Secretary also expressed his appreciation and high appreciation to the leaders and all the experts of the Apsara National Authority who have made active efforts in the mission of protecting, preserving and restoring ancient temples under the visionary guidance of Her Excellency, Doctor of Philosophy, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts.
Mr. Xu Yunguo He added that before the meeting, his delegation toured the Angkor site for the entire morning and personally inspected the Angkor-era royal palace restoration site, which is being carried out under the collaboration between the Apsara National Authority and Chinese friends. Through this visit, he clearly saw the joint efforts in using modern techniques combined with ancient knowledge to ensure that the restoration of historical temples and structures can maintain their original identity and historical value.
In response, on behalf of His Excellency the Director General of the Apsara National Authority, Mr. Kim Sothin, Deputy Director General of the Apsara National Authority He expressed a warm welcome to the Chinese delegation and thanked the Layou Vocational and Technical Training School for its attention to the preservation of cultural heritage in Cambodia.
He said that the Apsara National Authority is always open to cooperation with all international partners and thanked the Chinese friends who are close friends. And has actively participated in the conservation of Angkor temples for many years. His Excellency stated that the concept of establishing cooperation in human capital training is a good idea and important for the development of human resources in the field of cultural heritage conservation.
As the moderator, Dr. Chea Monirith, President of the Cambodia-China Development Research Association, agreed that this meeting was another positive step in strengthening relations. And cooperation between Cambodia and China in the fields of culture, education and heritage conservation, which are important sectors for sustainable development and the preservation of national cultural identity, and are in line with the Global Civilization Initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in March 2023.
