Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Prak Sokhonn has laid stress on the positive discussions between the Cambodian Prime Minister and his Myanmar counterpart, during the former’s visit to Myanmar on Jan. 7-8, 2022.
This is a progress in the implementation of the five-point consensus on Myanmar crisis reached by the ASEAN leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2021, underlined H.E. Prak Sokhonn at a press conference at Phnom Penh International Airport this morning upon the return of the high-level Cambodian delegation from Myanmar.
According to the Cambodian top diplomat, H.E. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the State Administration Council and Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, agreed to extend the five-month ceasefire with all Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), which will expire by the end of February 2022, until end of 2022. He also called on all parties concerned to accept the ceasefire in the interest of the country and people, end all acts of violence and exercise utmost restraint, a move that Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, strongly supported with the view to deescalating tension and enable constructive dialogues among relevant stakeholders to achieve enduring peace and national development.
Moreover, H.E. Senior General welcomed the participation of the special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar to join the ceasefire talks with and among the EAOs. This important step is embodied in the ASEAN five-point consensus.
Regarding the efficiency of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, especially to the people who are most in need of help, Samdech Techo Hun Sen and H.E. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing supported the convening of a meeting among stakeholders such as the special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the representative of the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management Centre (AHA Centre), and the Myanmar National Task Force to Facilitate Provision of Humanitarian Assistance through the AHA Centre, the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) and the relevant United Nations Specialised Agencies. The two sides acknowledged the critical importance of setting up mechanisms and proper facilities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme along with the provision of humanitarian assistance effectively to the people in need without discrimination, as nothing is more important than saving people’s lives.
For the COVID-19 vaccination, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn pointed out that ASEAN had declared to disburse some US$10 million from the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund to buy vaccines for all the member states. As the vaccination rate in Cambodia is already high, i.e. over 89 percent of the total population of 16 million, the Royal Government has decided to give Cambodia’s share of the vaccines to Myanmar.
Concerning the Australian foreign minister’s request to Samdech Techo Hun Sen over the case of detained Australian Sean Turnell, an advisor to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar, H.E. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told the Cambodian Premier that the case is still in court process, and pledged to provide positive reply to Samdech Techo when the court process ends.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen returned home this morning after wrapping up his two-day visit to Myanmar with fruitful outcomes.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press