Bangladesh sought Cambodia’s support in becoming an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner and urged the Kingdom to help bring about the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar in high-level diplomatic talks held on July 15.

Abdul Momen, foreign minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, met with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn on July 15 on the second of his three day official visit to the Kingdom to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.

“In the ASEAN framework, [Momen] sought Cambodia’s support, as the ASEAN chair this year, for Bangladesh’s bid to become an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner,” said the press statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on July 15.

Sokhonn responded to Momen by assuring him of Cambodia’s support, but he underlined that the process requires passing the ASEAN Secretariat’s assessment and requires consensus among all ASEAN member states.

Regarding the issue of the Rohingya who are currently in Bangladesh after being displaced from Myanmar’s Rakhine State due to conflict with Myanmar’s military, Momen asked Cambodia to help with bringing about a sustainable solution for their “speedy, safe and dignified repatriation”.

Momen said Bangladesh wishes to see the first repatriations occur during Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship, meaning this year.

Sokhonn said that the ASEAN chair was aware of this issue and paying attention to it, but stressed that its solution would depend mainly on solving Myanmar’s crisis broadly. He said Cambodia has endeavoured to implement ASEAN’s 5 Point Consensus (5PC).

The two foreign ministers also exchanged information and experiences regarding the process of national reconciliation, peace building and socio-economic development in their respective countries and determined that they share a common understanding about the importance of peace and stability as the preconditions for development.

“[Momen] praised the high turnout of more than 80 per cent in the recent Commune or Sangkat Councils election, assessing that it was conducted in a ‘free and fair’ manner,” the statement said.

Momen posted a message on Facebook following the meeting with Sokhonn.

“We have discussed the areas of cooperation in trade, commerce, investment, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food security, manpower, ICT, tourism, cultural exchange etc. and agreed to have more high level engagements to add further momentum to the existing bilateral relations,” the post said.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 15, Momen spoke about Bangladesh’s intentions to increase cooperation with Cambodia in various sectors, especially commerce and food security in particular as a response to increasing food prices.

“We’ve expressed satisfaction at the existing bilateral relations and we’re determined to further strengthen relations in the days ahead,” Momen tweeted about his meeting with Hun Sen.

Hun Sen urged Bangladeshi investors to invest in the rice sector in Cambodia by building rice mills and buying rice from Cambodian farmers to export to Bangladesh.

“[Hun Sen] requested that [Momen] urge Bangladeshi investors to invest in Cambodia by building rice mills and buying rice from Cambodian farmers and then storing, milling and exporting it to Bangladesh or by working with Cambodian farmers to implement agriculture cooperation projects based on contracts,” said the prime minister’s Facebook post.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the People’s Centre for Development and Peace, said that trade relations between Cambodia and Bangladesh are not very strong currently, but support for each other on an international level could be of significant help in advancing the two countries’ mutual interests.