PHNOM PENH: The positive nature of military relations between Cambodia and Israel may resume after the Deputy Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, met with the Israeli Ambassador to Cambodia, Orna Sagiv, who is also the Ambassador of Israel to Thailand on Thursday, 30 June.

During the meeting, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet remarked on the relationship between Cambodia and Israel, which established diplomatic ties in 1967. He said that currently, the two countries have good cooperation in some important areas such as tourism, education, and especially agriculture, which has played a leading role in linking the two countries.

He also mentioned the limited economic and military sectors between the two countries, which he wants to push closer and make stronger.

Ambassador Orna Sagiv praised the good relations between the two countries over the years, especially the fruitful cooperation in agriculture, with many Cambodian students going out to study and train in Israel. Besides agriculture, she also mentioned some potential areas of cooperation such as water resources, energy, entrepreneurship, innovation and technology.

With regard to strengthening military cooperation, she welcomed and supported this initiative, and stated that, "Today's meeting is an opening to look at opportunities to start cooperation between the two armies for the future.”

The Israeli military is considered one of the strongest and most capable in the world. According to the Global Firepower website, Israel ranks 18th out of 142 countries in terms of world military strength.