PHNOM PENH: At the invitation of His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the State Administration Council and Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led a high level delegation to pay a working visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar on 07-08 January 2022.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister had a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during which both sides discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues of common interest and concerns. The two leaders briefed each other on the recent developments in their respective countries.
On the developments in Myanmar, His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing informed Samdech Techo Prime Minister that the Myanmar Government had declared a five-month ceasefire with all Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) until the end of February 2022 and decided to further extend it until end of 2022. His Excellency Senior General also called on all parties concerned to accept the ceasefire in the interest of the country and people, end all acts of violence and exercise utmost restraint, a move Samdech Techo Prime Minister strongly supported with the view to deescalating tension and enable constructive dialogues among relevant stakeholders to achieve enduring peace and national development. To this end, His Excellency Senior General welcomed the participation of the special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar to join the ceasefire talks with and among the EAOs. This important step is embodied in the ASEAN five-point consensus.
To strengthen the efficiency of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, especially to the people who are most in need of help, the two Leaders supported the convening of a meeting among stakeholders such as the special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the representative of the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management Centre (AHA Centre), and the Myanmar National Task Force to Facilitate Provision of Humanitarian Assistance through the AHA Centre, the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) and the relevant United Nations Specialized Agencies. The two sides acknowledged the critical importance of setting up mechanisms and proper facilities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme along with the provision of humanitarian assistance effectively to the people in need without discrimination, as nothing is more important than saving people’s lives.
His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing congratulated Cambodia for assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship 2022 and welcomed the appointment of His Excellency PRAK Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar and pledged support to the latter in fulfilling his mandate to implement the five-point consensus in accordance with the ASEAN Charter. He also emphasized that implementation of the five-point consensus should be complementary in realization of the five-point roadmap of the State Administration Council.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister shared Cambodia’s Win-Win Policy success in achieving national reconciliation, lasting peace, stability, development and prosperity. He also stressed that based on the experiences and lessons learned from Cambodia’s peace process, complete peace and national reconciliation cannot be achieved without participation and agreement from all parties involved. In the same spirit, His Excellency Senior General has assured the facilitation of the visit of the special envoy to Myanmar and to meet with all parties concerned including EAOs taking into account of the prevailing situation in Myanmar.
The two sides also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation to further enhance the existing friendly relations between the two peoples, particularly in the context of global health crisis. His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing expressed his deep appreciation to the Government and people of Cambodia for the additional donations of 3,200,000 masks, 30,000 personal protection equipment (PPE), 50 ventilator machines, 50 patient monitors and accessories and 50 Oxygen concentrators and other medical equipment to assist Myanmar in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The meeting was concluded in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and in a frank and candid manner.
