PHNOM PENH, June 27 -- Cambodia on Thursday awarded the government's honorable medal decorations to the second batch of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical aid team after they had successfully completed their one-year mission in helping the country fight COVID-19 and other diseases.

Cambodia's Health Minister Chheang Ra presented the "Royal Order of Monisaraphon" medals to Liu Zhen, visiting president of the Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences, and the eight TCM experts in the second batch at a ceremony held in Phnom Penh.

The minister said the medals were conferred in recognition of their significant contributions to help treat patients and train Cambodian medical practitioners in using TCM.

"The TCM medical aid team has not only helped save Cambodian patients' lives, but also contributed further to deepening the bond of friendship between China and Cambodia," Ra said.

"The presence of the TCM medical aid team in Cambodia is a model of long-term friendship and cooperation between Cambodia and China in the area of health," he added.

Ra said Cambodia was pleased to continue cooperating with China in the promotion and development of TCM in the Southeast Asian country.

According to the minister, China has dispatched its TCM medical aid team to assist Cambodia in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh since March 2022.

Since then, two batches of the TCM medical aid team have completed their missions in the kingdom, he said.

He added that the first batch TCM medical aid team accepted about 9,600 Cambodian patients from March 2022 to mid-2023, and the second batch team provided clinical services to 11,175 patients from mid-2023 to date.

Tan Sokun, director of the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital, said TCM has gained popularity in Cambodia, thanks to its efficacy and safety in treating a number of diseases.

TCM is efficacious in healing issues such as osteoporosis, insomnia, infertility, pain, chronic cough, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial lung disease. It consists of therapies such as acupuncture, moxibustion, and Tuina remedial massage.