Hangzhou, 6 December 2021 (TDI): Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prak Sokhonn visited Hangzhou in the Zhejiang province of the People’s Republic of China, with a delegation.
The visit came after the invitation of the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi. The visit was from 3 to 5 December. Zhejiang is a province in eastern China. It has urban centers and a rural interior adjacent to the East China Sea.
Outcomes of the Official Visit of H.E #PrakSokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of #Cambodia, to Zhejiang, the People’s Republic of #China, on 3-5 December 2021 pic.twitter.com/MaMWYMn2cM
— Office of Cambodian PM 🇰🇭 (@PeacePalaceKH) December 5, 2021
Bilateral Meeting between Foreign Ministers of Cambodia and China
During the visit to Hangzhou, the Cambodian Foreign Minister held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss bilateral cooperation in various fields.
These include economy, tourism, trade, post-pandemic recovery, education, agriculture, health, and defense. Aside from that, the two also deliberated upon the evolving regional and international dynamics pertaining to mutual interest.
The two Foreign Ministers also appreciated the progress of the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic. The Chinese Foreign Minister reiterated the support of his country for infrastructure development and post-pandemic recovery in Cambodia.
Wang Yi assured that China will increase investment and encourage tourism in Cambodia. Furthermore, the two sides discussed the return of Cambodian students to China. In addition, the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation was also discussed in the meeting. The two partners will implement the Five-Year Plan of Action on the project.
The official visit aims to bolster the comprehensive strategic partnership between Cambodia and China. The two countries enjoy long-standing relations of fraternity, solidarity, traditional friendship, and tangible cooperation.
“China is the most trustworthy friend of Cambodia”
Furthermore, China and Cambodia are jointly working to boost collaboration under the ambit of a multilateral framework for the benefit of the two peoples. According to the Cambodian Prime Minister, China is the most trustworthy friend of Cambodia.
Cambodian Foreign Minister briefed his counterpart on the theme of Cambodia for ASEAN 2022. The theme is ASEAN A.C.T.: Addressing Challenges Together. Prak Sokhonn highlighted that the key priorities of Cambodia during the chairmanship of ASEAN 2022, are strengthening centrality, unity, peace, stability, and prosperity.
Wang Yi assured Prak Sokhonn of China’s support for Cambodia’s chairmanship of ASEAN 2022. He also congratulated his counterpart on successfully hosting the 13th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM).
The two countries enjoy deep-rooted and historic relations that can be traced back to the 13th century. Although, diplomatic relations between the two countries were officially established in 1945.
China and Cambodia agreed to boost their bilateral relations to a comprehensive partnership of cooperation in April 2006. However, it was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2010.
