Cambodia and Indonesia vowed to strengthen their diplomatic relations and declared mutual support for each other in multilateral forums on the international stage.
A meeting took place on December 1 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and his Indonesian counterpart Retno L.P. Marsudi during the latter’s two-day visit to the Kingdom.
“Both foreign ministers exchanged views on issues of common interest and expressed their full support for each other in multilateral forums, especially in the ASEAN framework, thus contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond,” said the foreign affairs ministry press statement.
Retno L.P. Marsudi applauded Cambodia’s effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic and its successful vaccination programme as Cambodia has now reopened society for all socio-economic activities. She also praised Cambodia’s rapid economic development and infrastructure improvements.
The ministers praised the long-standing bilateral relations between their two countries that have grown recently in multiple areas including politics, defence and security, trade, human resource development, agriculture, infrastructure, culture, health, tourism and connectivity.
Indonesia has provided support for military capacity building in the form of training for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguards.
Retno L.P. Marsudi also met with Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 30. Hun Sen praised Indonesia’s active role in regional and international frameworks for diplomacy.
He also thanked Indonesia for their significant contribution to the peace process in Cambodia in the 1990s. He said that her visit to Cambodia was another milestone in Cambodia-Indonesia relations.
Institute for Democracy president Pa Chanroeun told The Post on December 2 that Indonesia was a "big brother" in ASEAN with key significance partly because it has the 4th largest population in the world after China, India and the US.
He said the visit of a senior Indonesian official was part of routine diplomacy between the two countries, especially under the circumstances with Cambodia becoming chair of ASEAN in 2022.
"I believe that Indonesia will try to engage with Cambodia to ensure the functioning of ASEAN as well as contribute to the resolution of both regional and global issues," he said.
