On December 15, Chancellor Sali Augustine and Professor Yoshiaki Ishizawa, Director of Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development, made a courtesy visit to Samdech Hun Manet of the Kingdom of Cambodia, who visited Japan. The meeting was to express gratitude for the Completion of the Western Causeway of Angkor Wat (re-opening ceremony), which was hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia on November 4, 2023. This occasion was made possible by the special arrangement of H. E. Mr. Tuy Ry, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Japan,

At the venue, Samdech Hun Manet spoke to Chancellor Augustine in a friendly manner, “We met the other day,” and the meeting proceeded in a relaxed atmosphere. Professor Ishizawa presented a photo of former Prime Minister Hun Sen taken in 1985, the father of the current Prime Minister, to which Samdech Hun Manet responded with a smile, “I was only 12 years old at that time”, then, he added, “on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I would like to thank Sophia University and Professor Ishizawa for the conservation and restoration activities at Angkor Wat and human resource development. I hope that training of conservators will carry on in the future.”

Chancellor Augustine concluded the meeting with his word that “We would like to enrich our partnership furthermore based on Professor Ishizawa’s efforts over the past 33 years toward human resource development for restoration of Ankor Wat.”