PHNOM PENH: The newly appointed French Ambassador in the Kingdom of Cambodia Jacques Pellet has paid a courtesy visit to the Cambodian Foreign Minister on Tuesday. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn has warmly welcomed the French Ambassador while thanking France for its significant contribution to the multi-sectoral recovery and re-develop the Cambodian economy, especially in the fields of education, health, justice, agriculture, tourism and other sector.
Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn praises France as a key architect who contributed to the achievement of the Paris Peace Accords. He says the congratulatory message of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian has meant a lot confirming the close relationship between the two countries, which is developed on the basis of strong and lasting friendship, as well as the common history between Cambodia and French.
Ambassador Jacques Pellet has said that he is honored to fulfill his diplomatic mission in Cambodia with great pleasure. He has commended the Royal Government of Cambodia for its efforts in the fight against Covid 19. According to the Ambassador, the vaccination rate in Cambodia is among the countries with the highest vaccination rates in the world.
At the same time, the Ambassador also praised the successful organization of the 13th Asia-Europe Summit. He has said that France is committed to further strengthen and expand the existing friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries to be closer and better in all fields effectively.
French Ambassador Jacques Pellet has added that as the rotating chair of the Council of the European Union, in the first half of January to the end of June 2022, France will hold a Ministerial Forum on "Regional Cooperation, Indo-Pacific” on 22 February 2022, inviting all European Union Foreign Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Indo-Pacific countries, especially Cambodia, the chair of ASEAN, to participate in this forum, which will discuss key topics. It will highlight on security and defense, connectivity and digitalization, and global issues such as climate change, biodiversity, marine health.
The two officials have agreed to provide mutual cooperation to strengthen and expand closer and better relations and cooperation in the bilateral framework as well as the two regional organizations in particular when Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN and France is the rotating chair of the Council of the European Union in 2022.
The French side is preparing to hold a joint event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2022.
