Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, praised Prime Minister Hun Sen for his efforts to bring Cambodia out of its civil war and into peace.

Gingrich made the comments while attending the World Peace Summit organised by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in the South Korean capital Seoul – where Hun Sen was awarded with the 2022 Sunhak Peace Prize on February 12.

“The moment we’re in is very challenging in some ways. It’s remarkable. You just heard for example, that the entire effort on worldwide vaccinations has dramatically reduced the death rate for children.

“You’ve heard about a genius who has spent her life in service to public health. Sarah Catherine Gilbert, a vaccinologist, who has created the opportunity over a lifetime of work to respond to the crisis of Covid-19.

“You’ve heard from a dedicated patriot, Prime Minister Hun Sen, who committed to dialogue and who brought his country out from a terrible civil war. And yet here we stand at a turning point for the human race. There are other diseases that are terrible,” he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sarah Catherine Gilbert of Oxford University and the Vaccine Alliance Gavi are the 2022 laureates of the Sunhak Peace Prize.

Hun Sen said at the summit that the Cambodian people had suffered the pain of civil war for nearly three decades. The war was mainly instigated by the interference of foreign interventions, he said, adding that Cambodians fell victim to the politics of the ‘great powers’ during the Cold War.

“What we have learned from our experiences is that we can only rely on ourselves to protect our national interests, and to seek peace for our people. National reconciliation must first come from within – with national ownership the determining and defining factor. We have learned that nothing is more valuable than independence and self-determination,” he said.

He thanked the prize committee for acknowledging his efforts in ending the civil war and building a “comprehensive, lasting peace” in Cambodia.

He also expressed deep gratitude to the monarchy, in particular the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and King Norodom Sihamoni for their roles in promoting the spirit of national unity among all Cambodians.