PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Manet met with the ambassadors of the Czech Republic and the European Union on January 9 to discuss trade, investment and development aid, among other topics. Both meetings served to strengthen relations between European countries and Cambodia.

During his meeting with Czech Ambassador Martin Vávra, the Prime Minister thanked the Czech Republic for its financial and development assistance over the last 40 years. Ambassador Vávra recalled the decades-long close friendship and cooperation between their two countries, especially since the 1980s, when the Czech Republic forgave Cambodia’s debt and provided official development assistance and human resource training to help the country rebuild.

The Prime Minister expressed high appreciation for new cooperation between the two countries in the fields of information technology, cyber security and agriculture.

That same day, the Prime Minister had his first official meeting with EU Ambassador Igor Driesmans, who was appointed in September.

Ambassador Driesmans highlighted the strong diplomatic ties and fruitful cooperation between Cambodia and the EU in many areas, including trade, investment and people-to-people contacts. He expressed his commitment to further promote Cambodia-EU cooperation in all areas, especially in relaying to EU traders and investors the Royal Government's efforts to sharpen reforms and competitiveness in order to attract business.

In response, the Prime Minister welcomed the EU Ambassador and his colleagues, praising the EU's support for Cambodia and expressing hope for further cooperation in trade and investment.