AKP Phnom Penh, February 27, 2025 --

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation last night made public a press release on the outcomes of the participation of Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in the 2nd ASEAN Future Forum, held in Ha Noi, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on Feb. 25.

According to the same source, under the theme "Building a United, Inclusive, and Resilient ASEAN amidst Global Transformations,” the Forum provided a crucial platform to share insights and discuss new initiatives to shape a brighter future for ASEAN by exploring approaches to address regional challenges and build a more robust and resilient ASEAN Community.

H.E. Deputy Prime Minister delivered his remarks as the Lead Speaker in the Plenary Session II under the theme: "Revisiting ASEAN's Fundamentals: Preparing for Future Challenges". He emphasised the importance of upholding ASEAN'S core principles and the ASEAN way, and that the preservation of peace remains of paramount importance. He reaffirmed the importance of assisting Myanmar through the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) by consistently upholding ASEAN family's core principles and unity. He also stressed that ASEAN must maintain its leadership in shaping the regional agenda, and that ASEAN must strengthen ties with both new and long-standing external partners while simultaneously strengthening the Association's institutions to ensure that ASEAN Centrality remains at the core of the engagement.

On the sidelines of the 2nd ASEAN Future Forum, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister also paid a courtesy call on H.E. Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The two sides are committed to strengthening solidarity and cooperation between the two countries in all fields, including political cooperation, trade, people-to-people exchanges, as well as land, maritime and railway connectivity. In this regard, both sides agreed to organise the 21st Meeting of the Cambodia-Viet Nam Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation back-to-back with the 13th Meeting on Cooperation and Development between Cambodia-Vietnam Border Provinces in 2025. Both sides also reaffirmed the commitment to transform the border area into a place for peace, stability, cooperation and development, and to implement the agreements reached by the Leaders of both countries.

In addition, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand. The Meeting covered potential areas of cooperation to strengthen bilateral relations and preparation for the official visit to Cambodia in near future of H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, and the significance of activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Thailand in 2025. The two Ministers also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern.

By C. Nika