Outgoing ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan will be bestowed one of the highest decorations in Cambodia – the Grand Cross of the Sahakmetrey Order – in a ceremony to take place on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen requested His Majesty King Sihamoni to issue a royal decree conferring the class 5 decoration on Surin for his efforts to develop ties between ASEAN and Cambodia.

Surin’s successor, widely expected to be Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Luong Minh, will be determined at this week’s summit in Phnom Penh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at [email protected]