Day: November 13, 2022

The Kingdom of Cambodia this afternoon concluded the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits under the presidency of Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Chair of ASEAN 2022.
Addressing to the closing ceremony, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits were successfully concluded with a lot of achievements, and thanked the ASEAN Member States and dialogue partners for their full cooperation, support and flexibilities.
“During the past four days, there were in total 16 summits, and we have achieved a comprehensive and fruitful dialogue on the way forward to strengthen the ASEAN Centrality and values in our relations with external partners, especially as the world has being facing with rapidly changing regional and international issues,” he said.
“We have adopted and noted 70 outcome documents and declarations covering the three pillars of the ASEAN Community and adopted a number of cooperation frameworks with our dialogue partners to continue and strengthen our relationship,” the ASEAN Chair 2022.
At the closing ceremony, Samdech Techo Hun Sen handed over the gavel symbolising the ASEAN chairmanship to Indonesian President H.E. Joko Widodo as the ASEAN Chair 2023.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen also conferred the Royal Government of Cambodia’s decoration upon H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi who is going to end his tenure as the Secretary General of ASEAN soon and will be succeeded by H.E. Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodian Minister Delegate attached to the Prime Minister.
At the same time, he announced that Mr. Haji Muhammad lqbal Fakhri Haji Damit of Brunei Darussalam has been awarded the ASEAN Prize 2022 which recognises his work in strengthening the spirit of people-oriented and resilient ASEAN community.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister also emphasised that the ASEAN Centrality is the main driving force for dialogue and cooperation with external partners through ASEAN-led mechanisms. No matter what the situation, the bloc must maintain the ASEAN unity for the maximum benefit of the region as a whole, he underlined.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

The Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of India on Saturday agreed to elevate their relations to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, deepening their economic cooperation and expanding digital development and connectivity.
The agreement was made in the 19th ASEAN-India Summit held here yesterday under the co-chairmanship of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia and H.E. Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice-President of the Republic of India.
According to H.E. Kung Phoak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Spokesperson for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits, the Leaders lauded the remarkable progress of their dialogue relations, particularly the elevation of ASEAN-India relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
“The Leaders of ASEAN and India approved a joint statement on the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he pointed out in a daily press conference in the evening of Nov. 12.
They welcomed the launch of negotiations to review the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement that will contribute to increasing the bilateral trade, he said.
They also exchanged views on the connectivity of physical infrastructure, digital, trade and economy, education and culture, health, agriculture, and people-to-people exchange, the spokesperson said.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, and the Honorable Justin Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, highly valued the good relations and fruitful cooperation between the two countries since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, during a Bilateral Meeting held on Nov. 12, on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh.
According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation AKP received this morning, Prime Minister Samdech Techo recalled Canada’s long-standing involvement in the peace process in Cambodia since the 1950s. He commended Canada for its active role in Cambodia’s peace and development process, including in mine clearance, and called on Canada to continue its support to help the Kingdom achieve its goal of “A Mine-Free Cambodia” by 2025. He also informed Prime Minister Trudeau of Cambodia’s initiative and close coordination with Japan to dispatch Cambodian deminers to help train the Ukrainian demining team in Poland.
The Honorable Justin Pierre Trudeau valued the Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and hoped that it would create an opportunity to deepen the economic ties and digital and high tech between Canada and ASEAN. He also expressed his sincere thanks for Samdech Techo’s leadership and initiative in assisting Ukraine and Cambodia’s position on crisis.
The two Prime Ministers also discussed ASEAN-Canada relations as Samdech Techo expressed his support for the negotiation of ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement with the hope that the ASEAN-Canada Dialogue Relations will reach the Strategic Partnership level in the near future.
Both sides also discussed cooperation including in trade, climate change, and food security and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen as the Chair of ASEAN 2022 said the signing of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by seven countries this year can be the first record in TAC history.
At a press conference here on Nov. 13, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said there are two main reasons behind this achievement.
“First, the ASEAN’s external partners increasingly see the growing role of ASEAN in the world, which has attracted their respective attentions. Second, in the past three years, due to COVID-19, Vietnam and Brunei could not host the ASEAN Summits physically, that is why no country could not come to sign the Instrument of Accession to TAC,” he said.
Regarding this matter, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Kung Phoak said this can be regarded as a big milestone during Cambodia’s chairmanship of ASEAN.
This year, the seven nations that have signed the Instrument of Accession to TAC are Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Greece, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
TAC was established in 1976 and embodies universal principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation among States in Southeast Asia. It is a legally-binding code for inter-state relations in the region and beyond. The Treaty has been amended three times, in 1987, 1998, and 2010, respectively, to allow for accession by states outside Southeast Asia as well as for regional organisations whose members are sovereign states, among others.
As of November 2022, there are 50 High Contracting Parties to the TAC.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

As the ASEAN Chair 2022, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen reaffirmed here this evening that Cambodia and ASEAN have adhered to the political agenda of unity, centrality and independence.
Speaking at a press conference here at the Peace Palace on Nov. 13 on the fruitful outcomes of 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits, Samdech Techo Hun Sen underlined that Cambodia and ASEAN will not take any side.
“Cambodia and ASEAN are not to choose China or the U.S., and both China and the U.S have told us that there is no need to choose. We have confirmed our position and what is happening in Phnom Penh is clear for that,” he said.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen continued that the geopolitical tensions must continue to be examined, and it must be based on the stance of each country. For ASEAN, it has its own independence and centrality with no bias.
“What is happening in Phnom Penh is clear, our external partners, no matter how big or small, have come to ASEAN. Cambodia is small, but we have the ability to invite the Presidents and Prime Ministers of different nations to give a speech in accordance with our arrangement, this is the independence of ASEAN,” he explained.
According to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, a total of 29 Heads of State/Government and leaders of international institutions gathered at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh from Nov. 8-9, 2022.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press