His Excellency SOK Chenda Sophea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Her Excellency Milena Caridad Zaldivar, Ambassador of Cuba to the Kingdom of Cambodia, vowed to strengthen ties through concrete actions under existing bilateral agreements during a courtesy call by the incoming ambassador on 10 June 2024. The two sides also agreed to broaden cooperation to potential new areas including agro-business, rice production, and investment.
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the progress of cooperation and relations between Cambodia and Cuba. He extended his full support to Ambassador Zaldivar for a successful tenure. He also conveyed Cambodia’s gratitude for Cuba’s invaluable assistance during the 80s.
Ambassador Zaldivar recalled the strong bonds of friendship between Cuba and Cambodia and between previous and current leaders of the two countries. She commended Cambodia’s remarkable achievements and economic growth under the current leadership and reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment for deeper collaboration with Cambodia, particularly in agriculture, sports, health and education exchange.
The Deputy Prime Minister and the Cuban Ambassador expressed their commitment to work together towards effectively implementing signed bilateral memoranda of understanding and agreements, and to explore opportunities to advance collaboration to other areas. They reaffirmed the enduring relations between Cambodia and Cuba established in the 1960s, a legacy of the Late King-Father NORODOM SIHANOUK Preah Borom Ratanak Kaudh and His Excellency Fidel Castro which has flourished into multi-faceted relationship.
The Deputy Prime Minister and the Cuban Ambassador also discussed opportunities to boost trade and business through activities such as trade fairs in each other’s countries. They expressed the hope that the forthcoming Third Political Consultations between the two foreign ministries in Havana later this month will be a good venue to discuss and put into action existing agreements and explore other dimensions for future cooperation.
In addition, they discussed cooperation within ASEAN, the UN and other international fora where both nations have a history of mutual support and remain committed to continuing this tradition.
