According to Xinhua report, the Lancang-Mekong Peace Boat project was launched in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, aiming at promoting peacebuilding and prosperity in the region.

Initiated by Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute, with support from the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund, the project would focus on capacity building and policy-oriented research for scholars, policymakers and journalists from the six LMC countries.

Suos Yara, chairman of the Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Information and Media of the National Assembly of Cambodia, said the project was in line with the China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative, which would push forward the aspiration for common peace, prosperity and development.

"We hope that this project could act as a part of a cultural corridor that promotes youth from different cultures and civilizations to build trust for peace and prosperity," he said at the launching ceremony.

The LMC countries include China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Yara said the Lancang-Mekong region is one of the greatest development potentials in Asia and that the LMC has brought the cooperation between China and the Mekong countries to another level.

"Cambodia alone has benefited substantially from this cooperation, especially through the LMC Special Fund," he said.

Meanwhile, Yara also highly spoke of the close ties between Cambodia and China, saying that the two countries have a long history of diplomatic relations, and their ironclad friendship endured and prospered even further during difficult times like the COVID-19 era.

"Our relationship is rooted deeper than just a state-to-state level," he said. "The peoples of both countries are life-long friends who have been supporting and working together for a shared future."

Yara said cooperation between the two countries covered various sectors ranging from economic development, trade and investment to politics, healthcare and security.