Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK) H.E. CHUNG Eui-yong has reiterated the ROK’s strong support to Cambodia in virtually hosting the 13th Asia-Europe Summit in November 2021, and assuming the ASEAN chairmanship next year.
H.E. CHUNG Eui-yong voiced the support yesterday while holding a bilateral meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, during the latter’s official visit to ROK from Sept. 6 to 8, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Besides, during their meeting, both foreign ministers noted with satisfaction the dynamically growing bilateral relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks as reflected through the frequent exchanges of high-level visits between the two countries.
As Cambodia and the ROK will commemorate their 25th Anniversary of the re-establishment of Diplomatic Relations next year, the two Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance the good existing bilateral relations for the mutual interests of the two nations, as well as for peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. To this end, the two ministers discussed on ways and means to deepen the cooperation in the fields of defense, trade, investment, agriculture, labor, health, information and communication technology, science and innovation, tourism, education and environment.
The two Ministers were also pleased to note the stable volumes of bilateral trade between the two countries, and the increase of ROK’s investment in Cambodia despite the COVID-19 pandemic. They shared optimistic views that the Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) to be signed in early October this year, will further promote the bilateral trade and investment, and boost the economic recovery of both countries in the post-COVID-19 era.
H.E. Prak Sokhonn expressed Cambodia’s gratitude to the ROK government for providing development assistance to Cambodia, which has significantly contributed to the socio-economic development in the country. He stressed that Cambodia appreciates ROK’s commitment to expand development assistance under the New Southern Policy of the ROK, and welcomes the New Southern Policy Plus, which focus on seven key areas including comprehensive health and medical cooperation.
The Deputy Prime Minister commended the Korean Government and people for their effective containment of the COVID-19 outbreak, which resulted in a strong socio-economic recovery, and valued the active role of ROK in vaccine multilateralism. He also expressed Cambodia’s appreciation to the government of the Republic of Korea for the donation and medical supplies extended to Cambodia to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The ROK Foreign Minister commended the Royal Government of Cambodia’s effort in laying out the effective measures to combat COVID-19, such as the timely vaccination rollout across the country. He also highly valued Cambodia’s generous assistance to neighboring countries for helping them fighting against COVID-19.
H.E. Deputy Prime Minister also expressed his sincere appreciation to the Korean Government for taking good care of the Cambodian community in Korea.
For his part H.E. CHUNG Eui-yong expressed his gratitude to Cambodian community in Korea for their positive contribution to the Korea’s economic development and cultural diversification. The Republic of Korea pledged to increase the quota of Cambodian workers and also the number of scholarships for Cambodia in the future.
H.E. CHUNG Eui-yong reaffirmed that, as Cambodia is one of the ROK’s priority partner countries in the official development assistance (ODA) programme and a core partner in ROK New Southern Policy, the ROK will continue to assist and cooperate with Cambodia in the fields of water management, public health, transportation, education and other needed areas of Cambodia.
The ROK Foreign Minister appreciated the active role of Cambodia in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation to Africa and the Middle East, which contributes to peace and stability in the regions, and thanked Cambodia for her constructive role in coordinating the ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations, and also in the Mekong-ROK cooperation framework.
In addressing the climate change challenges, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister congratulated the ROK for successfully hosting the Second Summit of P4G held in May this year, and expressed Cambodia’s support to the Green New Deal Policy and the commitment of ROK government in achieving the 2050 Carbon Neutrality. On his part, the ROK Foreign Minister expressed ROK’s appreciation to Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen for his contribution to the success of the said Summit, during which he emphasised the need for green technology development.
