MYANMAR: Prime Minister Hun Sen had a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during which both sides have 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, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has informed Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen that the Myanmar Government had declared a five-month ceasefire with all Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) until the end of February 2022 and has decided to further extend it until end of 2022. General Min Aung Hlaing has 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 the Prime Minister Hun Sen has 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, Myanmar’s chief-of-staff has 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 have 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 have 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.
General Min Aung Hlaing has congratulated Cambodia for assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship 2022 and has welcomed the appointment of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn as special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar and has pledged support to the latter in fulfilling his mandate to implement the five-point consensus in accordance with the ASEAN Charter. He has also emphasized that implementation of the five-point consensus should be complementary in realization of the five-point roadmap of the State Administration Council.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Hun Sen has shared Cambodia’s Win-Win Policy success in achieving national reconciliation, lasting peace, stability, development and prosperity. Samdech Hun Sen has 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.
Myanmar and Cambodia have 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. General Min Aung Hlaing has 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 pandem.
