Foreign minister Prak Sokhonn during in a virtual meeting in January. MFAIC
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokohnn is scheduled to make a weeklong trip to Europe, where he will be attending a forum for indo-pacific cooperation and holding bilateral meetings with counterparts in several pan-European countries. He will also be inaugurating the Cambodian embassy in Turkey.
According to the foreign ministry’s press statement on February 16, Sokohnn will attend the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific on February 22 in the French capital Paris on the joint invitation of Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice-president of the European Commission, and Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Sokhonn will deliver the forum’s opening remarks and attend the roundtable on security and defence. He will also take part in the meeting between France and ASEAN Foreign Ministers in his capacity as High Representative of Cambodia, the Chair of ASEAN for 2022, the ministry said.
Sokhonn will be holding separate meetings with other high-level European officials, including Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly; Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky; and Michel Herbillon, president of the France-Cambodia Friendship Group of the French National Assembly.
Sokhonn will also hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
Of his trip to Germany, the ministry said: “The visit, a first by a Cambodian foreign minister in 27 years, is aimed at reinforcing the excellent bonds of friendship and cordial cooperation between the two countries.”
Sokhonn will also pay an official visit to Turkey on February 28, where he will be participating in the inauguration of the Cambodian embassy in Ankara. He will be joined by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The two will also hold official talks on a number of economic matters.
“During the visit, the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and the memorandum of understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Protocol will be signed,” the statement read.
