Cambodia, Slovakia Hold Second Round of Bilateral Consultations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic held the second round of their bilateral consultations in Bratislava, Slovakia on Dec. 1.

The Consultations were co-chaired by H.E. Dr. CHEM Widhya, Secretary of State at the MFAIC and his Slovak counterpart H.E. State Secretary Mrs. Ingrid Brocková.

According to a press release of MFAIC AKP received this morning, at the outset, the two Secretaries of State briefed each other on the political and economic, and social situations in their respective countries, especially at the current time of the Covid-19 pandemic and war in a part of Europe. Mrs. Ingrid Brocková was deeply impressed by the high vaccination rate and how the Government of Cambodia effectively handled so successfully the pandemic and was particularly concerned with the security in Europe.

Bilaterally, both sides were determined to bolster potential bilateral cooperation through the exchanges of business delegations, including the two Chambers of Commerce, and continue extending each other mutual support in international organisations.

H.E. Dr. CHEM Widhya briefed about Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN under the theme “ASEAN – ACT: Addressing Challenges Together” which ended with the successful conclusion of the ASEAN 40th and 41st Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, focusing on many critical issues facing the region and the world such as the worrying security situations, the economic slowdown coupled with rising inflation, the pandemic, climate change, food, and energy crisis, just to name a few, and potential and practical areas of cooperation that all players could forge together.

H.E. Mrs. Ingrid Brocková warmly congratulated and highly appreciated the Kingdom of Cambodia for the tremendous success of her ASEAN Chairmanship as reflected by the smooth 55th AMM and related ministerial Meetings as well as the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits and for all the active role and efforts of the Cambodia Chair to mitigate regional tensions, particularly the Myanmar crisis.

Both sides touched on ASEAN-EU relations deemed of great importance to the two regions. They further shared the view that ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and EU Strategy in the Indo-Pacific have similar visions, which focus mainly on maritime cooperation, connected, resilient, clean, and fair economy, connectivity, infrastructure development, and people-to-people exchange while agreeing that the EU Indo-Pacific Concept should complement the AOIP.

The two Secretaries of State also exchanged view on regional and international issues of common interests and concerns, in which they touched deeply on the war in Ukraine and the Myanmar crisis. H.E. Mrs. Ingrid Brocková pointed out that Slovakia is currently facing the challenges of oil and gas supply and continuous flow of refugees. She expressed her country’s sincere gratitude for Cambodia’s firm position at the United Nations.

On Myanmar’s situation, H.E. Dr. CHEM Widhya underlined the complexity of Myanmar’s political crisis and Cambodia’s endeavours as Special Envoy to push for the effective implementation of the Five Point Consensus (5PC) agreed by ASEAN Leaders in Jakarta on 24th April 2021. He added that the recent mass release of prisoners is an important gesture in the right direction to create a conducive environment for a dialogue process among all parties concerned in Myanmar.

Besides, they agreed that the power rivalry has exerted a negative influence on small States such as Cambodia and Slovakia. In this connection, they believed that it is crucial to uphold international law and multilateralism under the umbrella of international institutions such as the UN, ASEAN, and the EU.

Both sides agreed that the third Bilateral Consultation will be held in Phnom Penh.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press