Phnom Penh (FN), March 22 - With the assistance from the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) and support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Cambodia completely trained 10 Colombian soldiers on mine-detecting dogs for three weeks.

The soldiers have been trained at many CMAC units, including in Kampong Chhnang, Battambang, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham provinces.

General Director of CMAC, Heng Ratana, said that Colombia has experienced more than 50 years of civil war and hope to achieve a new peace agreement signed in 2016.

The Colombian soldiers admired Prime Minister Hun Sen’s win-win policies, which ended the civil war in Cambodia, despite a small country facing chronic wars.

"They want peace like Cambodia. At first, they thought that they won’t learn anything from the training in Cambodia, but they were wrong. It turned out that they requested for more assistance,” said General Director of CMAC.

He added that the Japanese government planned to ask CMAC to send forces to train Colombian soldiers in Colombia.

Heng Ratana mentioned that CMAC is working to establish a Mine-Detecting Dogs Center for social security and post-war clearance remediation.

CMAC is not only a demining operator in Cambodia, but also a specialist training center providing services to other countries.
=FRESH NEWS