AKP Phnom Penh, August 05, 2022 --

Cambodia and the European Union (EU) have been committed to working together in order to strengthen bilateral relations.

The commitment was highlighted during a bilateral meeting here on Aug. 4 between H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and H.E. Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings hosted by Cambodia.

According to H.E. Chum Sounry, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on bilateral front, Deputy PM Prak Sokhonn and H.E. Borrell expressed their satisfaction over the steady progress of the cooperation and discussed ways to further enhance mutual understanding so as to further promote trade and investment.

Deputy PM Prak Sokhonn emphasised that EU is not only a donor but also a good partner politically and economically and expressed his sincere appreciation to the EU and its member states for their continued support and assistance for Cambodia’s socio-economic development.

Deputy PM PRAK Sokhonn and H.E. Borrell also recalled the success of the 11th Cambodia-EU Joint Committee Meeting held earlier this year in Phnom Penh and underscored the importance of regular communications on strengthening cooperation and bridging the gap of misunderstandings.     
Taking this opportunity, Deputy PM PRAK Sokhonn informed H.E. Borrell of the country’s remarkable progress on democracy, especially the recent Commune Election taking place in early June this year in a free, fair and transparent manner with more than 80 percent turnout rate and the contest by 17 political parties.

Deputy PM PRAK Sokhonn and H.E. Borrell had an exchange of views on a wide array of regional and international issues.

Within the ASEAN-EU framework, H.E. Borrell highly appreciated Cambodia for inviting H.E. Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, to participate in the opening session of the 17th East Asia Summit to be held in November 2022 as Guest of the ASEAN Chair 2022. Both sides also looked forward to the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit to mark the 45th Anniversary of the ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations to be held on 14-15 December 2022 in Brussels and co-chaired by Samdech Techo Prime Minister HUN SEN and the EU side. 

By C. Nika