Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) this morning released the outcomes of the virtual meeting on Jan. 25 between H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of MFAIC, and H.E. Nasser BOURITA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco.
On 25 January 2022, His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister PRAK Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, had a meeting via Video Conference with His Excellency Mr. Nasser BOURITA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The two Foreign Ministers exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of common interests and agreed to further strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation in several areas, including trade and investment, tourism, education and human resource development, and agreed to organize the 3rd round of Political Consultations between the two countries via video conference in the 1st semester of 2022.
Both Foreign Ministers agreed to speed up the negotiation on the pending Agreement on Air Services between Cambodia and Morocco and to consider signing MoU on tourism cooperation between the two countries in order to boost this sector. His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister also raised the possibility of creating a sister city between the two countries.
The two Ministers noted that throughout the 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relation between the two countries, the two-way trade volume between Cambodia and Morocco remains modest. Therefore, they shared the views to explore potential areas of cooperation to boost the economics by encouraging both sides’ relevant stakeholders to take part in the two countries cooperation and activities.
His Excellency Mr. PRAK Sokhonn expressed gratitude to Morocco for providing scholarship to Cambodian diplomats and students to study in Morocco. On the Cooperation between Cambodian National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations (NIDIR) and Moroccan Academy for Diplomatic Studies (AMED), the Cambodian Minister suggested both institutes to explore ways to concretize cooperation between the two institutions.
On regional issues, Deputy Prime Minister PRAK Sokhonn informed his counterpart of the Cambodia’s Priorities as the ASEAN Chair in 2022 in responding to the strategic challenges facing the region, among them the effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic and inclusive recovery process, managing existing traditional and non-traditional issues, and strengthening ASEAN’s cohesiveness, centrality and resilience.
On development in Myanmar, H.E. PRAK Sokhonn informed His Excellency Mr. Nasser BOURITA about the outcomes of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar that was made with an aim to push for the implementation of the ASEAN 5-Point Consensus, underlining that Cambodia’s only wish is to help Myanmar to return to normalcy, end violence and achieve durable peace and reconciliation. To this end, it is indispensable to engage all parties concerned in a process of dialogues, he added.
Minister Nasser BOURITA expressed his strong commitment to supporting Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair this year and reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to stand as a gateway between ASEAN and Africa and Middle-East Region in order to promote bilateral cooperation with Cambodia as well as with ASEAN Countries. On the candidate of Cambodia as Observer Member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Minister Nasser BOURITA underlined that Morocco would convince other member countries to support Cambodia candidature. Additionally, to increase visibility of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, he renewed his invitation to the Deputy Prime Minister to pay an official visit to Morocco within this year.
His Excellency PRAK Sokhonn thanked His Excellency BOURITA for his help in building support for Cambodia candidate as Observer Member at the OIC, and accepted the invitation with pleasure, saying he would avail himself of his tight ASEAN schedule to visit Morocco at a time convenient to both sides.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press