Remarks by
Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
At the 5th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Under the Theme of “Shared Vision for a Secured and More Prosperous CICA Region”
Dushanbe, 15 June 2019
– Excellency Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan and CICA Chair;
– Excellencies, Heads of States/Governments of CICA Countries;
– Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Today, I am indeed very honoured and delighted to participate in this 5th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures of CICA Region. On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), I would like to express my sincere thanks to the People and Government of Tajikistan for the warm hospitality extended to our delegation. I congratulate the Republic of Tajikistan on assuming the current CICA Chairmanship of 2018-2020 and for organizing this 5th CICA Summit. At the same time, I also would like to welcome to Sri Lanka as a new member of the CICA family.
Indeed, the confidence building and promotion of trust amongst countries in our region in all spheres of cooperation are indispensable for the development of our respective countries, especially to overcome global challenges. In this regard, the theme of this meeting namely “Shared Vision for a Secured and More Prosperous CICA Region” is highly relevant, reflecting the efforts of CICA member countries in seeking solutions to global security and stability issues, as well as strengthening cooperation for socio-economic development in the region.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
From its conception in 1992, CICA has witnessed profound transformations in the world — the collapse of the Soviet Union, drastic changes in Eastern Europe, the conclusion of the Cold War and the reshaping of a new international order. But, over the past decade, the world has been facing huge architectural changes in geo-politics, economy and finance, as well as in trade and investment, which have readjusted the balance of global power toward a multi-polarity system, along with emerging new security threats such as climate change, cyber-security, and extreme terrorist activities, etc.
Apart from the conflicts in the Korean Peninsula, regional nuclear issues, violations in other states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, our Asian region is also being affected by the consequences of trade war between major economies, particularly the United States and China, as some circles call it a New Cold War. Moreover, experiences and lessons from Libya, Iraq, and Syria have shown that interference into internal affairs of other sovereign countries does not improve the situation, but it would only result in the tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, destruction, and continuation of civil wars. Moreover, selfishness in the contest for power and influence without any regard for common interests, through imposing sanctions or economic pressure, revoking tariff exemptions and protectionist policies, are threatening stability and development of many countries.
Asia is a region of great diversity with countries differing in size as well as history, cultural traditions and values, wealth and strength, and different security interests. Common security means respecting and ensuring the security of each state as well as living in peace and peaceful coexistence by firmly adhering to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of other states and respecting each other sovereignty and national independence, because we all belong to one Asian family and have a common destiny. This diversity is a valuable asset for CICA to harness and develop so as to bring prosperity for our people. In this regard, I would like to stress that development and prosperity will never happen without peace and security. And without peace and security, we would not be able to deliver our commitments to the UN Global Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Therefore, in my view, we should tap the strengths of CICA which is focusing on confidence building measures. I can see enormous potential for cooperation in economic, trade, investment and tourism sectors. Cambodia is keen to explore more trade and investment opportunities with all the CICA member states, especially for small and medium enterprises by exchanging information and forging connectivity in all areas. In this context, we should work closer with the Belt and Road Initiative, which certainly can offer great opportunities for CICA members to accelerate regional connectivity and improve international transport and logistics systems. In addition, CICA should emphasize the importance of an open world economy and express its strongest commitment to a rule-based multilateral trading system under the framework of WTO.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Peace, development and win-win cooperation have always been the cornerstone of Cambodia’s policy as we fully uphold the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. Cambodia stands ready to work with all member states in pushing the CICA process to build security architecture that fits our Asian regional conditions along our ASEAN way of mutual respect, consensus-building and mutual understanding in order to protect global peace and stability as well as to promote sustainable development.
I strongly believe that this conference will bring about new initiatives and substantive recommendations that will contribute to regional prosperity, stability, security, and peace through the building of mutual understanding, belief and trust.
Thank you!
