Phnom Penh, 8 June 2021: Cambodia and the United States of America have lauded the “fruitful outcomes” of Monday’s bilateral meeting on human trafficking. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Mr. Sar Kheng, met with U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. W. Patrick Murphy.

According to a statement released through Cambodia’s official news agency, AKP, Mr. Kheng said he spoke highly of the recent visit by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, adding that through the visit, “the friendship and cooperation between the two nations will be further strengthened and expanded”.

The statement went onto say that the U.S Ambassador had reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with Cambodian stakeholders to combat human trafficking and Mr. Murphy had encouraged stronger efforts in Cambodia to prosecute traffickers, protect victims and prevent human trafficking crimes.

The meeting also touched upon cooperation in child protection, the implementation of UN resolutions and environmental protection. The U.S Ambassador tweeted Monday night that he had encouraged Cambodian authorities “to partner with civil society environmental activists and not to prosecute them for speaking out to protect natural resources”.