Foreign minister Sok Chenda Sophea (right) shakes hands with Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, during their meeting in Phnom Penh on March 13. foreign ministry
Cambodia's top diplomat and a senior EU official have expressed their commitment to maintaining existing relations and supporting each other on the international stage.
The commitment was made during a March 13 meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sok Chenda Sophea and Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, at the foreign ministry in Phnom Penh.
A ministry press release explained that both sides expressed their satisfaction with the long-standing relations and highly valued the growing cooperation in almost all sectors.
It said Chenda Sophea congratulated the EU for its “successful” hosting of the 24th ASEAN-EU ministerial meeting and the 3rd EU-Indo-Pacific ministerial forum, held on February 1-2 in Brussels, Belgium.
“Chenda Sophea and Urpilainen affirmed their commitment to maintaining existing good relations and supporting each other on the global stage,” added the ministry in a March 13 social media post.
Both sides also exchanged views on political developments in Cambodia, as well as important regional and international issues of common interests and concerns, particularly on ASEAN-EU cooperation and ASEAN integration, as well as regional and global issues.
Urpilainen told a March 13 press conference that during her meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet, held in Phnom Penh the day prior, discussions covered a wide range of areas, from regional topics to human rights in Cambodia, economic prospects and bilateral cooperation.
She noted that Cambodia played an excellent role as ASEAN chair in 2022, and the EU-ASEAN summit held that year was a fruitful.
“Now is a good time to take stock and visit Cambodia. I want to see where we are in our cooperation, especially now, after the elections and the formation of a new government,” she said.
Answering a question from The Post, Urpilainen explained that the EU is carefully following the state of play in ASEAN, examining how it can support ASEAN member nations in general and the bloc as a whole.
She explained that the EU is also about economic integration, and its background is very similar to ASEAN.
“I also had the opportunity to speak with several European businesses. It was quite nice to hear that European companies are committed to supporting Cambodia as it integrates with this regional market. Economically Cambodia is more integrated to this region.
“This is something which we definitely support, and it was nice to hear that our companies are on the same page when it comes to this objective,” she said.
Urpilainen noted that Cambodia was an excellent chair for ASEAN and that under its chairmanship, the EU-ASEAN summit was a success. The outcome of that summit was a commitment from the EU to ASEAN: a Global Gateway investment package of up to €10 billion ($10.9 billion) for the bloc by the year 2027.
She highlighted the EU’s main concern about the recent developments in Myanmar, reiterating that the EU supports the bloc’s five-point consensus (5PC) peace plan.
“We, as the EU, are providing support to the citizens of Myanmar, not via their state authorities, but via NGOs and civil society organisations, as well as UN agencies,” she said.
“We feel obliged to help and provide support to the citizens, but the support is mainly basic services like education, healthcare and food security. We are still present in Myanmar and I think it’s important to highlight that,” she added.
