PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has a new British Ambassador, Dominic Williams, who recently began his diplomatic mission in Phnom Penh. EAC News recently had the privilege to interview Ambassador Williams about his new post in Cambodia.
Ambassador Williams thanked the Royal Government for helping to foster an incredibly rich and deep relationship between Cambodia and the United Kingdom (UK), where both countries work together and cooperate in various fields.
“Today we have this incredibly rich and deep relationship with Cambodia where we work together on all sorts of mutual areas of interest,” said the British Ambassador. “I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Cambodia, who has been really supportive of us over the last year as we joined ASEAN as a dialogue partner. The government of Cambodia has been really supportive of that, which is a reflection of the strength of our relationship today.”
He also mentioned that 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and the UK.
“It's quite an exciting time for me to arrive in Cambodia as an Ambassador because in 2023 we'll celebrate the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relations with Cambodia,” he said. “These relations have been established since Cambodia became an independent country in 1953, and over the last 30 years, these relations have grown immensely from the UK being involved in the UN peacekeeping mission here, with UK forces also participating through the support we've given, since then, to demining operations.”
The British Ambassador remarked on the main ways Cambodia and the UK can strengthen their bilateral relations and trade, such as through British businesses situated in Cambodia, and by further fostering the relationships between the British and Cambodian people.
He also praised the great job done by Prime Minister Hun Sen, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how well Cambodia has responded to the threat of the virus overall.
The full exclusive interview with British Ambassador Dominic Williams is out now.
