US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman will pay a visit to the Kingdom as part of a multinational tour, according to the US’ top diplomacy agency on May 21.
From May 25 to June 4, Sherman will travel to Brussels, Ankara, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Honolulu in the US state of Hawaii, it said.
The US Department of State noted that she “will hold a series of meetings” in Phnom Penh, without elaborating or providing a date.
From Belgium and Turkey, Sherman will travel to Southeast Asia where she will “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and address a range of bilateral and regional issues, including efforts to urge the Burmese military to cease violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burma to the path of democracy”, it said using Myanmar’s former name.
In Jakarta, the deputy secretary will meet Indonesian government officials to explore collaborative opportunities to address regional challenges, and meet officials from the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives to “discuss expanding and deepening the US-ASEAN strategic partnership”.
In Bangkok, discussions with government officials will touch on US-Thai security cooperation, steps to ramp up economic ties, Mekong regional concerns, the ongoing Myanmar crisis, shoring up fundamental freedoms and deepening cultural ties between the people of both countries, the state department added.
Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Koy Kuong referred a reporter to the US embassy in Phnom Penh when reached for comment on May 22.
“Yes, the deputy secretary is coming,” US embassy in Phnom Penh spokesman Chad Roedemeier told The Post on May 22. “I don’t have anything else to announce right now, but I will definitely notify you when we have something more.”
