PHNOM PENH:  The 5th Indian Ocean Conference was held between the four and five December in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Minister attached to the Prime Minister and Standing Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Ouch Borith was the Cambodian representative of the Conference.

The Cambodian figure has expressed appreciation to the government of the United Arab Emirates and the India Foundation for their warm hospitality and has also congratulated the United Arab Emirates on its National Day and the commemoration of 50 years of statehood.

Ouch Borith has stated that the theme of the forum “Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic” is timely and relevant at this time in history when the planet is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic fallouts. He has shared with other nations the outcomes of the Cambodian situation during the pandemic, especially for achieving high vaccination coverage, with 88.55% of 16 million population fully vaccinated and booster doses being administered throughout the country.

He has also shared Cambodian measures and support services to women, particularly vulnerable ones during periods of lockdown. Mechanisms for protection from situation of gender-based violence and for increasing livelihoods for women have been part of the national plan.

Ouch Boring has stressed the importance of strengthening global health security and global solidarity. As an example, Cambodia has received a total of about 40 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines of which 11,736,060 doses were donated graciously by China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and COVAX Facility. On the other hand, the Kingdom has shared vaccines, medical equipment, and supplies to its neighbour – Viet Nam, Myanmar, Laos, Timor-Leste, and Nepal.

The environment has also been another point of discussion, with the Standing Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affair declaring the world should strengthen and expand regional and global cooperation to promote green development, in particular encouraging the private sector to increase green investments, improving investment efficiency in all relevant sectors and promoting green industry development and green technology adoption.

He has also expressed the importance of the Indican Ocean as vital sea route that connects the Middle East, Africa and East Asia with Europe and the Americas, carrying more than half of the world’s seaborne oil, and host 23 of the world’s top 100 container ports.

Ouch Boring believest the Indian Ocean Region needs to pay more attention to supporting multilateral trading system, especially in further enhancing trade liberalisation.

Furthermore, he has expressed concerns over the 4th Industrial Revolution, in which the new trend of changes will further advance the adoption of digital technologies for industrial development.

In conclusion, the Standing Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affair reiterated Cambodia’s strong commitment to the promotion of the mutual affinities between Indian Ocean Countries and ASEAN, especially as Cambodia undertakes the important role of Chair of ASEAN commencing January 2022.