Phnom Penh, November 26, 2019 –The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have renewed their commitment to further foster their bilateral cooperation.
The commitment was underlined by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Prak Sokhonn and his Korean counterpart H.E. Ms. Kang Kyung-wha, during their bilateral meeting yesterday afternoon in Busan, ROK, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the first Mekong-ROK Summit.
H.E. Ms. Kang Kyung-wha expressed her warm welcome to H.E. Deputy Prime Minister and her regret that Samdech Techo Prime Minister could not attend the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the 1st Mekong-ROK Summit in Busan because his mother-in-law is seriously ill. She therefore conveyed best wishes from H.E. President of ROK to Samdech Techo’s mother-in-law.
For his part, H.E. Prak Sokhonn thanked his South Korean counterpart for her warm hospitality and best wishes from H.E. President Moon Jae-in. Samdech Techo Prime Minister highly values these two summits because he is the person who pushed for the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and who initiated the upgrading of Mekong-ROK meeting to summit level, he added.
The Cambodian top diplomat was convinced that the two summits in Busan this time will contribute to boosting the bilateral and multilateral cooperation to a new height.
Besides, the two foreign ministers discussed and exchanged views on cooperation in various fields, including investment, trade, connectivity and people-to-people exchange.
For the agricultural cooperation, both sides welcomed the signing of the MoU on agricultural cooperation between the two countries’ agriculture ministers.
H.E. Deputy Prime Minister sought support from ROK in agro-industry and agricultural packaging process, two forestry projects, including the re-establishment of a forestry station in Siem Reap province.
For trade cooperation, the two foreign ministers welcomed the signing of the joint statement on the launch of the joint study on Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which will further enhance trade between the two countries.
On that occasion, H.E. Prak Sokhonn thanked ROK for its contribution to infrastructure development by increasing the loan portfolio from US$350 million to US$700 million for 2019-2023, as well as for its assistance of US$10 million for demining operations in the three provinces affected by severe landmines – Battambang, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey.
In terms of employment, he thanked ROK for increasing the number of Cambodian workers’ quota to work in the ROK, which not only provided high income for workers and their families, but also helped them to have a good job with high skills when returning to Cambodia.
In response, H.E. Ms. Kang Kyung-wha accepted to submit Cambodia’s proposal related to forestry projects to her President. For the two-way trade between Cambodia and ROK, she claimed it to have reached nearly US$1 billion. She also highlighted that Cambodian workers in Korea contribute to the economic development of the host country as well.
At the same time, H.E. Ms. Kang Kyung-wha assured H.E. Prak Sokhonn that Korea would continue to assist Cambodia in mine clearance activities, and informed him about the plan to organise the Partnership for Green Growth Summit in mid-2020.
By Khan Sophirom
