Cambodia and Japan this morning pledged to continue bilateral and multilateral cooperation for regional peace and prosperity.

The pledge was made in an approximately-90-minute courtesy meeting here at the Peace Palace between Cambodian Prime Minister Samdach Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet and visiting Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, during her two-day official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA stated that areas of collaboration for Japan and Cambodia are steadily expanding after many years of cooperation.

Regarding the future bilateral cooperation, she expressed her desire to collaborate in the strengthening of Cambodia’s sustainability and further co-creation of social value, focusing on human resource development and the use of Japanese technology.

For his part, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet welcomed H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA’s visit, appreciated the long-standing support from the Japanese government and people for Cambodia, and stated that he would like t
o advance cooperation between the two countries under the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.’

Also, in response to H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA’s welcome to the recent appointment of Reserve Judge Motoo NOGUCHI to the Khmer Rouge Trial Supreme Court Chamber, Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet expressed his hope that the Judge would play an active role.

On the bilateral relations, H.E. Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko expressed her desire to advance cooperation in the water and digital technology fields, which are Japan’s strengths, to support Cambodia’s focus areas in sustainability and development of a digital economic society. She added that, in the digital technology field, she would like to proceed with the Co-Creation for Common Agenda Initiative. She also expressed her desire to utilise Japan’s expertise and cooperate with Cambodia to develop a core communication infrastructure, including 5G capabilities, and to continue cooperating with Cambodia to strengthen cyber security.

On this point, Prime Minister Samde
ch Thipadei Hun Manet stated that the Japanese water-related support is important for the health of Cambodian people and that the Cambodian government places importance on the development of a digital economic society and would like to promote cooperation with Japan.

Moreover, the Japanese foreign minister expressed her willingness to advance cooperation to develop Sihanoukville Port as a hub port and logistics base in the region. She said that she would like to cooperate with Cambodia in attracting investment from Japanese companies and announced that the Government of Japan has decided to provide an ODA loan of 8 billion yen for the Phnom Penh City Transmission and Distribution System Expansion Project to improve the investment environment.

Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said that the Royal Government of Cambodia also emphasises the development of Sihanoukville Port as a hub port and logistics base in the region. He expressed his wish to continue to collaborate with Japan.

In the area of secur
ity, H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA stated that she would like to cooperate with Cambodia including through port calls to Ream base by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), while Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet welcomed the progress of security cooperation between Japan and Cambodia, and stated that he shared the view with H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA and that Cambodia attaches importance to maritime cooperation. He also expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation and collaboration with Japan.

At the same time, H.E. Minister KAMIKAWA welcomed the progress of third-party assistance in humanitarian mine action based on the long-standing Japanese-Cambodian collaboration. She expressed her desire to cooperate with Cambodia to promote third-party assistance, develop demining technology, and raise awareness in the international community.

Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support in humanitarian mine action in Cambodia. He also stated that he would support
Minister KAMIKAWA’s initiative and that he would like to further collaborate with Japan in this field in third countries such as Ukraine.

Besides, both sides held an exchange of views on various issues in the regional and international communities, including the situation in the East and South China Seas and the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine. They concurred to cooperate on international affairs, including on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, North Korea, and the situation in Myanmar.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse