Saturday, 20 March 2010

Klaus hosts dinner for Cambodian king


via CAAI News Media

19 March 2010

Prague, March 18 (CTK) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus and his wife Livia hosted a gala dinner for King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni, followed by a concert by the child choir Zvonecek (Small Bell), yesterday.

Simahoni, who speaks Czech, has been on a private week-long visit to the Czech Republic since Sunday.

Klaus and Sihamoni had a 20-minute eye-on-eye meeting before the dinner.

The concert held at the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle in honour of Sihamoni was also attended by Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer and his wife, Education Minister Miroslava Kopicova and other guests.

Klaus and Sihamoni also met four years ago. They called for the development of Czech-Cambodian relations at all levels.

On Friday, Sihamoni will be granted an honorary doctor's degree at the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) from which he had graduated.

Sihamoni, 56, says he considers the Czech Republic his second homeland. He attended primary and secondary schools in Prague and then graduated from AMU at which he studied ballet.

Sihamoni arrived in Prague at the age of nine. The Czechoslovak embassy in Paris was the sole institution that reacted to his parents' effort to secure dancing education for him.

During his previous private visit to the Czech Republic in 2006, Sihamoni was granted Prague's honorary citizenship, becoming the first king to hold the title.

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