Cambodia and Japan have organised the first Senior Officials’ Talks to reinforce the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, pointed out a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC).
This meeting took place on Nov. 20, 2023 in Tokyo under the chairmanship of H.E. Ms. Tuot Panha, Secretary of State at the MFAIC and H.E. Funakoshi Takehiro, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
According to the press release issued this afternoon, in the meeting, both sides shared the view that Cambodia-Japan relations have grown from strength to strength to reach new heights with the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership earlier this year. They discussed ways to further advance mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, including politics, economy, defence and security, digital development and people-to-people ties.
The two sides noted with satisfaction the frequent high-level exchanges of visits and interactions between the two countries, especially the recent summit between Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, and H.E. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. The summit contributed to further deepening mutual trust and broadening the bilateral relations.
Both sides were pleased with the current status of economic cooperation, especially stable bilateral trade and Japan’s substantial investment in Cambodia. The two sides discussed measures to boost bilateral trade and attract more Japanese investment to Cambodia.
The Cambodian side reiterated its appreciation to the Government and Japan for their significant contribution to Cambodia’s peace process and invaluable support and assistance for the socio-economic development. As Cambodia is one of the important partners in development cooperation, the Japanese side reaffirmed its commitment to continue supporting the Royal Government’s development efforts in line with its Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I and Japanese official development assistance policy.
In addition, the two sides agreed to further strengthen multilateral under frameworks such as ASEAN-Japan relations and Mekong-Japan Cooperation. They also had an extensive exchange of views on regional and international issues of concern and interest.
The Japanese side appreciated Cambodia’s commitment to working closely with ASEAN Member States and Japan to ensure the success of the ASEAN Commemorative Summit marking the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, and looked forward to welcoming Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet to and hold a bilateral summit with H.E. Fumio Kishida.
