PHNOM PENH – New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters is to pay an official visit to Cambodia from November 28 to 29 to help boost relations.

The visit is at the invitation of Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn. Peters will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Manet and hold talks with Sokhonn to strengthen and expand cooperation.

“The upcoming official visit reaffirms the shared commitment of both countries to further enhance the longstanding ties of friendship for the mutual benefit of the two peoples,” the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Peters’ visit comes a week after a meeting between Hun Manet and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. Both underscored the need to strengthen relations and expand trade along with other potential areas of cooperation.

Cambodia and New Zealand established diplomatic relations in 1959, six years after Cambodia gained independence from France. The relations have continued to grow.https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/cambodia-new-zealand-relations-a-view-from-the-ambassadors  

However, the relationship has not been without controversy. During the Cambodian civil war, particularly immediately after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, New Zealand recognized the Khmer Rouge as the legitimate representative of Cambodia. 

It later supported the ASEAN position of recognizing the ousted Khmer Rouge within the anti-Vietnamese coalition formed in 1982.

Following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, New Zealand took significant steps to support Cambodia’s peace-building process and became one of the largest contributors of peacekeeping forces to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), deploying more than 100 military personnel.

Since 1994, New Zealand has been an active development partner, providing development assistance focused on agriculture, renewable energy, governance, and skills development. The country has been a strong supporter of mine clearance in Cambodia.

New Zealand is home to a Cambodian diaspora community of around 10,000 people, mostly in Auckland and Hamilton.

Despite the growth in relations, New Zealand has no resident embassy in Phnom Penh. Trade remains small, with a report in 2023 showing that New Zealand exports to Cambodia were worth about $21 million, while imports were around $35 million.