• Politics

Foreign Ministry Tells Officials to Follow Up Regional and Global Issues

• By Meng Seavmey
• March 29, 2024 7:10 PM

PHNOM PENH – Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea has called on officials to keep following up and analyzing regional and global issues despite major accomplishments last year.

He made the statement at the two-day conference on "Increase Work Efficiency, Productivity, and Quality" on March 28, which was also joined by officials and heads of Cambodian representatives in foreign countries.

The minister pointed to problems such as Myanmar’s political conflict, the South China Sea dispute, the Korean peninsula, the Russia-Ukraine war, geopolitical tension, and traditional security challenges, food security and energy, and economic problems.

Praising the ministry’s participation in resolving those issues, the minister also “urged officials to remain focused on and to analyze the regional and global situation, as well as strengthen the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities amid challenges.”

All of this work aimed to boost economic growth and attract foreign investors, technical assistance and financing.

In February last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation took part in removing Cambodia from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force.

This represented progress in improving measures for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regimes. It was a major step in gaining trust from foreign investors, the ministry said.

Working with Ministry of Interior, the ministry has also helped saving nearly 8,000 Cambodian survivors of human trafficking from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar and Singapore.

With a flexible foreign policy under geopolitical pressures, Cambodia also applied for a candidacy to be an observer in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and to host the Francophonie Summit in 2026.

In humanitarian work, Cambodia dispatched more than 9,200 troops on UN peacekeeping missions in ten countries from 2006 to 2023. This earned  third place in the ASEAN region and 28th place in the world for the most participation.

Cambodia has been implementing economic, cultural, and tourism diplomacy.  Since taking office, the minister has joined Prime Minister Hun Manet on official visits to regional and international countries. This has opened doors for investments and relationship strengthening in bilateral and multilateral frameworks.  

In cultural promotion, the cookbook "The Taste of Angkor" that was published by the ministry won several regional and international awards. These included the Best Television Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2023, the Best Asian Cuisine Book, and the Best Heads of State/Food in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

The ministry is also working on internal reforms, such as building capacity of human resources, bureaucracy and administration, and financial management.

The reformation is based on the implementation of the 7th mandate government's Pentagonal Strategy-Phase 1 which sets “people” as the first of five priorities to boost economy, create jobs, ensure equity, increase work efficiency and maintain sustainability.