ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting in Phnom Penh Kicks Off


The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) hosted by Cambodia began officially this morning (Phnom Penh time), during which participants are expected to develop innovative solutions to address interconnected global issues.

The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting was chaired by H.E. Mrs. Eat Sophea, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, SOM Leader of Cambodia to ASEAN.

H.E. Mrs. Eat Sophea will brief the meeting on key deliverables to be achieved during Cambodia’s Chairmanship under the theme “ASEAN A.C.T.: Addressing Challenges Together”, in responding to the strategic challenges facing the region, including effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic and inclusive recovery process, geo-political rivalries, existing traditional and non-traditional issues, and strengthening ASEAN’s cohesiveness, centrality and resilience.

Cambodia is hosting the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (55th AMM) and Related Meetings from July 29 to Aug. 5, 2022. According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the 55th AMM and Related Meetings include the Meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free-zone (SEANWFZ) Commission, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Interface Meeting with ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Representatives, the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (55th AMM), the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC+1) with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, the 23rd ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 12th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the 29th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, will preside over the opening ceremony of the 55th AMM and receive a joint courtesy call by the Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

On the margins of the 55th AMM, the Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN will witness the signing of the Instruments of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by the Kingdom of Denmark, the Hellenic Republic, the Netherland, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They will also attend the ASEAN Prize 2021 Award ceremony.

There will be three separate trilateral meetings of Cambodia, and the ASEAN Secretariat with three ASEAN Dialogue Partners, namely Norway, Türkiye and Switzerland.

Apart from the above-mentioned ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partners and the six countries acceding the TAC, four other countries have been invited as Guests of the Chair of ASEAN 2022, namely Papua New Guinea, Morocco, Timor-Leste and Azerbaijan.