H.E. Aun Pornmoniroth, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, has proposed the UN to provide more resources and expertise, particularly in terms of sharing best practices and lesson learnt for Peace Keeping Operation (PKO), such as through regular pre-deployment and post-deployment trainings, to enable peacekeepers to carry out and deliver on their mandate efficiently.
He made the proposition on behalf of Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, at the 11th ASEAN-UN Summit, conducted on Nov. 15 via Videoconference on the margin of the 37th ASEAN Summit, according to a press release of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister also congratulated the 75th anniversary of the UN and expressed support to the UN’s theme this year: “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism”, reflecting strong aspiration of nations around the world to uphold peace and prosperity through their collective commitment to multilateralism.
He called for more attention to be given to cross-sectoral cooperation and strong momentum toward realising regional integration through the implementation of the IAI Work Plan IV (2021-2025), among others.
The 11th ASEAN-UN Summit applauded the substantive cooperation between ASEAN and the UN as reliable partners in promoting multilateralism, regional and global peace, security and prosperity. ASEAN welcomed the UN’s continued support for ASEAN Community building, ASEAN Centrality and development.
The Summit discussed mainly on how ASEAN and the UN can collaborate to address the grave impacts caused by the spread of COVID-19 and effectively realise post-pandemic socio-economic recovery. The ASEAN Leaders and the UN Secretary General underlined the importance of ensuring COVID-19 vaccines a global public goods that is equally accessible and affordable to all countries. The Meeting recognised the indispensable role of the UN, in particular the WHO in assisting countries around the world to develop measures to cope with the present and future pandemics based on scientific data and analysis.
The Meeting reaffirmed strong commitment to deepen cooperation through the implementation of the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action (2021-2025). The Meeting further emphasised the value of pursuing further complementarities between ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). They also discussed cooperation in the areas of disaster management, improvement of healthcare system, nuclear non-proliferation, terrorism and violence extremism.