Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, welcomed India’s proposal to designate the year 2022 as the “ASEAN-India Friendship Year” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
“I hope ASEAN-India relations will become even stronger and, as the incoming ASEAN Chair in the year 2022, Cambodia is ready to cooperate in organising and celebrating this wonderful occasion,” he mentioned in his remarks at the 18th ASEAN-India Summit.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen said, despite the growing trends of protectionism and anti-globalisation, Cambodia still strongly believes in multilateral mechanisms, especially in the context of addressing the COVID-19 crisis, as well as revitalising and boosting economic growth. In this sense, Cambodia would like to emphasise the importance of building regional trust through practical cooperation in line with the goals and principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. Cambodia would also like to support the adoption of the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP.
The Cambodian Premier also mentioned that ASEAN-India cooperation will continue to play a vital role in restoring economic, trade and investment activities. In this spirit, Cambodia welcomes initiatives to prepare and improve ASEAN-India agreements, especially the efforts to make the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) simpler and more open.
In the context of COVID-19 crisis, Samdech Techo Hun Sen commended and expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Government of India to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. At the same time, he joined with all leaders of ASEAN Member States in expressing the gratitude to the Government of India for continuously supporting the efforts to realise ASEAN integration through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI).
The Prime Minister also encouraged India to continue to support the implementation of the IAI Work Plan IV 2021-2025, especially by promoting the development of physical connectivity and digitalisation in education.
