PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Manet met with outgoing European Union Ambassador Maria del Carmen Moreno as she ended her diplomatic mission that spanned the last four years. The two diplomats discussed future cooperation between Cambodia and the EU in areas like health, education, human resource development and public services.

At the Peace Palace on August 28, Prime Minister Hun Manet touted the sustainability of his administration’s policies, particularly in the implementation of the five-point Pentagon Strategy, meant to elevate Cambodia to a high-income country by 2050. He said that the government will particularly focus on building human capital, health sector reform at the grassroots level and public sector reform.

The prime minister also requested that the EU continue to consider, support and finance phase 2 of the "Multi-Year Indicator Program 2021-2027" to facilitate Cambodia's trade and exports to the EU market. Currently, the EU is the fourth largest buyer of Cambodian exports, even after it took away some duty-free trade benefits in 2020 due to human rights concerns.

Ambassador Moreno thanked Cambodia for working closely with the EU and congratulated Prime Minister Hun Manet on his new position. She also praised Cambodia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s launch of an effective social assistance program and its chairmanship of the 2022 ASEAN Summit.

She also expressed the European Union’s will to cooperate more closely with Cambodia, especially with the new administration under the direct leadership of Prime Minister Hun Manet. She let him know that she will spread the good news of Cambodia’s while on her next mission to Sri Lanka.

In September, Moreno will be replaced by Belgian Igor Driesmans, the current EU ambassador to ASEAN.