Phnom Penh: The Royal Government has declared what it’s called a “strong commitment” to peace and stability on Tuesday’s International Peace Day. To mark the occasion, Prime Minister Hun Sen released a statement expressing the desire to protect the people of Cambodia at all costs. He says the bitter experiences and lessons that Cambodia learned during more than two decades of war and genocide have made the country better understand the values of peace and stability that are fundamental to the nation's development.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has stressed that for almost 23 years, since 29 December 1998, the end of the war on the motherland of Cambodia through his "win-win” policies, has brought about “true peace and complete national unity” for the first time in the nation’s history, which he says is a source of pride for the kingdom.

He says that for over two decades, Cambodia's economic growth has accelerated and although Cambodia is being affected by the pandemic, economic growth for 2021 is expected to recover to around 2.5%, after a contraction of 9.9% last year. He says in spite of this difficult situation, he is reaffirming the Royal Government's commitment to directing its policies and resources to continuing the fight against Covid-19 through the vaccination campaign for 13 million people, as well as supporting people's livelihoods, helping maintain the business balance and accelerating the economic recovery by increasing attention on developing health and social protection systems.

The Prime Minister has highlighted that Cambodia is extremely proud to have transformed from a nation protected by a UN peacekeeping force to one that contributes to peacekeeping missions around the world. He says between 2006 and 2021, Cambodia has sent a total of 7,527 troops to UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Mali and Yemen. The Prime Minister concluded by saying that Cambodia will continue to contribute to the protection of world peace, stability and security through cooperation in the fight against global challenges and demonstrating a “strong commitment to the spirit of unity and international brotherhood”.