Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn meets with Japan’s newly-appointed ambassador to Cambodia Masahiro Mikami on Tuesday. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn said he will support the new Japanese ambassador Masahiro Mikami to help him achieve his diplomatic goals for the Kingdom.
In a meeting with Mikami on Monday, Sakhonn told the new ambassador that Cambodians were enjoying full peace and political stability now.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a press release on Tuesday that 83 per cent of the population voted in last year’s election and around 77 per cent supported the government’s political platform.
It quoted Sokhon as saying that Cambodia has always maintained its stance of supporting Japan in a regional and international framework.
He said that Asean also had a position on the Indo-Pacific region, where both Cambodia and the bloc wanted to see any initiative complement and not oppose each other.
Sokhonn also told the Japanese ambassador that Cambodia is still in talks with the EU regarding the Everything but Arms (EBA) agreement.
While Cambodia appreciates its partnership with the EU, the Kingdom has also drawn a red line which cannot be breached – Cambodia’s sovereignty.
“The growth of trade between Cambodia and Japan in the first five months of this year stood at more than $2 billion after connecting direct flights [between Cambodia and Japan],” Sokhonn said.
The direct flights have promoted people to people exchange and boosted trade and investments.
International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia director Kin Phea said Japan is a close friend of Cambodia.
After the 1991 Paris Peace Accords and after Cambodia held its first general election in 1993, Japan was the first large donor to the Kingdom. Japanese investment is also relatively large in Cambodia.
Phea said Japan has always practised a neutral foreign policy towards Cambodia that does not pressure the Kingdom or use any diplomatic, political or economic influence to force it to follow an agenda. He referred to this policy direction as “relations in good faith”.
On his impression of the Kingdom after arriving two weeks ago, Mikami said Cambodia had enjoyed significant growth when compared to his previous visit during the Asean Summit in 2002.
