MOROCCO: Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, met with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nasser Bourita in Rabat, Morocco on 27 March 2023 to discuss and develop bilateral relations between the two countries.
According to a joint press release on the meeting, “The two Ministers had fruitful exchanges and expressed the confidence that this visit will give new impetus to the cooperation between the two countries through exploration of new areas and launching of new initiatives.”
The two ministers celebrated their partnership “marked by friendship, mutual respect, continuous consultation and coordination on issues of mutual interest,” and expressed admiration for the social and economic development of each other’s countries under strong and stable leadership. Mr. Bourita specifically highlighted the remarkable peace, stability and continued development enjoyed by Cambodia as a result of the guidance and wisdom of King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The ministers further emphasized the need to capitalize on their respective global positions in order to develop trade and investments between their countries, encouraging business communities to intensify interaction with each other. They even mentioned the possibility of an important business forum to be held in either country in order to promote trade relations. For their part, the ministers signed the Agreement of Air Services on Tuesday with the aim of promoting tourism, business and trade between the two countries. They also have pending agreements on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments, eliminating double taxation and preventing tax evasion. In order to promote cultural exchange they discussed ways to promote contact through scholarships, academic exchanges, and the organization of cultural events.
Deputy PM Prak Sokhonn was invited to Morocco at a virtual meeting held in January 2022, during which Mr. Bourita expressed his support for Cambodia as the annual chair of ASEAN. At Monday’s meeting, he congratulated Cambodia for its successful chairmanship of the ASEAN summits and the positive outcomes it produced. Morocco has previously stated its support for Cambodia as a candidate for observer membership in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which it reiterated this week. In return, Deputy PM Prak Sokhonn expressed Cambodia’s support of Morocco as an applicant as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN and as Non-Permanent Member Seat of the UN Security Council.
The two Ministers commended the exchanges between the Moroccan Parliament and the National Assembly of Cambodia, both at the bilateral level but also at the regional level within the ASEAN Interparliamentary Assembly, in which Morocco is an observer member. During his visit, Deputy PM Prak Sokhonn paid a courtesy call to Mr. Rachid Talbi Alami, President of Morocco’s House of Representatives, encouraging both parties to enhance the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM-PN) to protect, preserve and promote peace and sustainable development.
The meeting concluded with an invitation from Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, to Prime Minister Hun Sen to pay an official visit to his country in the near future to promote bilateral relations.
