Cambodia and Turkey have signed a security cooperation agreement after Minister of Interior Sar Kheng met his Turkish counterpart Suleyman Soylu in Ankara this week for talks on international security.
Sar Kheng ended his official visit to Turkey on Thursday.
The dialogue focused largely on new threats to peace, stability, public order and national security.
The agreement will play a fundamental role in creating a framework for expanding Cambodian-Turkish security cooperation, the Ministry of Interior said on Thursday.
It focuses on transnational and organised crime, particularly the combating of terrorism, the trafficking of people and weapons, cyber crime, money laundering and the illegal smuggling of goods.
Officials from both ministries are to undertake exchange visits and share experiences. These include the coastguard, the police and military police.
Knowledge will be exchanged regarding security checks and sub-national administrative management.
The two ministries are also to look at strengthening the partnership between government and civil society groups.
The deepening of cooperation came during Sar Kheng’s visit to Turkey from Sunday to Thursday to attend bilateral meetings with the Turkish interior minister.
Sar Kheng also visited departments under the remit of the Turkish interior ministry, including tax avoidance and crime divisions, security camera operation centres and special-ops units.
On an official visit to Turkey last October, Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged to improve Cambodian- Turkish ties.
During the prime minister’s visit, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of culture, education, sport, agriculture, water resources, tourism, investment and mine clearance.
The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time said both sides were determined to increase bilateral trade to the value of $500 million over the coming years.
In June, Hun Sen also met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as he attended the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
