PHNOM PENH: The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, paid Prime Minister Hun Sen a courtesy visit on Wednesday morning. The Prime Minister welcomed the Foreign Minister and her delegation at the Peace Palace, where they discussed a number of subjects related to bilateral cooperation and ASEAN work.
Retno Marsudi stressed that 2022 will be an important year for both Cambodia and Indonesia, as Cambodia takes on the ASEAN chairmanship, and Indonesia, the G20 presidency. She expects that her visit to Cambodia will help strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ASEAN.
Prime Minister Hun Sen reaffirmed the cooperation Cambodia has had with Indonesia in the past, especially thanking Indonesia for its participation in the peace process in Cambodia in the 1980s and 1990s until the Paris Peace Agreement was signed.
He urged the Foreign Minister to continue cooperation in both bilateral and ASEAN frameworks on the fight against Covid-19. He particularly highlighted Cambodia's assistance to Laos against the Covid-19 outbreak, saying that Cambodia would provide vaccines to Laos as part of the ASEAN framework.
He also gave mention to Indonesia's important role in the ASEAN framework, especially in the implementation of the Indo-Pacific concept and development goals, which help ensure that there are no confrontations between countries in the region.
Prime Minister Hun Sen also highlighted Cambodia's position in supporting East Timor to become a member of ASEAN soon. He also spoke about the situation in Myanmar and other issues in the region, which he acknowledged as the work ASEAN must pay attention to. The Indonesian Foreign Minister expressed support for both the Prime Minister’s views on East Timor and Myanmar.
The Foreign Minister said that she was very pleased with the bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia, especially the resumption of flights between the two countries, which is especially important in the context of reopening the economy. She further proposed that the two countries must continue to strengthen and expand cooperation in the areas of agriculture, health and infrastructure development.
She also thanked Prime Minister Hun Sen for the assistance and aid provided to Laos, and added that Indonesia will also provide support to Laos in the near future. She stressed that she agreed with the Prime Minister on the priority issues to be undertaken at the next ASEAN Summit while Cambodia is chair, especially the focus on the fight against Covid-19 and the reconstruction of travel and connectivity between ASEAN nations.
