Cambodia Thanks Italy for Vaccine Assistance


Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has profoundly thanked the people and Government of Italy for the assistance in 1,056,000 doses of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine to contribute to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia.

“On behalf of the people and the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), I would like to express my deep gratitude, and appreciation for the generosity and sharing spirit of the people and Government of the Italian Republic in the fight against COVID-19 in Cambodia, as well as in the whole world,” said Samdech Techo Hun Sen at the vaccines’ handover ceremony held here this morning.

Taking this opportunity, Cambodia would like to express her gratitude to the Italian Government for the efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic relations and cooperation between Italy and Cambodia, he added.

For instance, he continued, Cambodia would like to extend a warm welcome and congratulate the establishment of the Honorary Consulate in Cambodia in 2020, and the growth and activeness of the Italian business communities, especially the Italian-Cambodian Business Association (ICBA), in promoting investment in Cambodia. At the same time, Cambodia also highly appreciates the promotion of Italy-ASEAN and European Union-ASEAN cooperation.

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2022, Cambodia will continue to strengthen this cooperation further in all fields, and Cambodia would like to encourage the Italian Republic as well as the European Union to continue to promote more businesses and investment in Cambodia as well as in ASEAN, Samdech Techo Hun Sen underlined.

As a way forward, while COVID-19 is still causing uncertainties, he stressed, the RGC will continue to promote the national vaccination campaign, in which today’s precious donation of COVID-19 vaccine from the people and Government of the Italian Republic will make a significant contribution. The RGC has also been monitoring the situation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has been causing many challenges, especially energy shortages, rising crude oil prices and rising inflation that can have a negative impact on investment, trade and regional and global production chains. In addition, the RGC has not forgotten and has been trying to solve other major issues such as climate change, environmental issue, social protection, poverty and so on.