The notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, worked as part of an international brigade building roads in Yugoslavia in the early 1950s.

At the time, Yugoslavia had split from the sphere of the Soviet Union, and Pol Pot was very impressed with the mass mobilization of public works and cultural collectivization of the small communist nation.

He recalled the trip with great fondness, and, once he gained power, sought to improve the relationship between Yugoslavia and Kampuchea.

[1] Josip Tito, the President of Yugoslavia, visited Cambodia multiple times during the 1960s and 70s.

[2] However, despite his dislike for the Khmer Rouge regime, Tito did not support the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia.