FRANCE: The Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, said at the Ministerial Forum for Indo-Pacific Cooperation held in Paris, France on Tuesday, 22 February, that Cambodia, as the 2022 ASEAN Chair, sees multilateralism as a key mechanism for peace and development while many complex problems continue to plague the world.

He said that both ASEAN and the European Union see multilateralism as a mechanism for peace and development with regard to the rapidly changing world, which encompasses geopolitical competition, other complex regional hotspots, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.

He expressed satisfaction with the promotion of the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership and said he looked forward to the ASEAN-EU Anniversary Summit held this year to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Dialogue Partnership.

He said, "Increasing economic interdependence will reduce the risk of conflict, and those countries need to further strengthen regional and inter-regional economic cooperation.” He also hailed the completion of the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and said he looked forward to the future achievement of the ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement.

The Cambodian Foreign Minister also shared the ASEAN concept of developing the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Perspective (AOIP), believing that this perspective could be a platform to facilitate complementarity among the various reforms of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, to achieve the common goal of maintaining peace and stability, and bringing prosperity to the people.

Minister Prak Sokhonn also briefed the international forum on peace and security concerns in ASEAN, such as the ongoing issue with Myanmar.

The plenary session was followed by three roundtables on connectivity and digital technology, global challenges (including climate, biodiversity, oceans, and health) and security and defense issues. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn attended the roundtable discussion on security and defense, and reiterated Cambodia's position in modernizing the Ream Naval Base for the purpose of national defense in accordance with the Cambodian Constitution.

The 2022 Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific was attended by Foreign Ministers from 30 EU member states and Indo-Pacific countries. During the plenary session, the leaders discussed various aspects of the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the views of the EU, ASEAN and Indo-Pacific countries.

Leaders in the talks also expressed common concerns about a binary worldview that could lead to confrontation, competition and tension. They suggested that there should be a point where Europe and the Indo-Pacific countries could work together to provide multilateral options for regional order based on the rule of law, and open to the interests of peace, security, stability and prosperity.

In this regard, ASEAN is recognized as a central player in the Indo-Pacific, and the participating leaders expressed the view that ASEAN and Europe should make efforts to seek complementary and integrated ASEAN perspectives on the Indo-Pacific and EU strategy for Indo-Pacific cooperation, especially in areas of practical cooperation such as connectivity, sustainable development, digital transformation, climate change, economic recovery, health and safety, maritime cooperation and biodiversity protection.