Senate President Hun Sen Hosts Godbrother Brunei Sultan for Breakfast
Senate President Hun Sen on April 30 hosted a breakfast for Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Photo: SHS Media/Telegram
- By Torn Chanritheara
- April 30, 2024 2:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Senate President Hun Sen on April 30 hosted a breakfast for Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, whom he refers to as his godbrother.
The Sultan arrived in Phnom Penh on the evening of April 29 after visiting Thailand.
Hun Sen personally welcomed and accompanied Sultan Bolkiah to the hotel as a reciprocal act as the latter also drove him during a visit to Brunei in 2011.
The visit was considered private and there was no official schedule.
All three of Hun Sen’s three sons, Prime Minister Hun Manet, Army Deputy Commander Hun Manith and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service Hun Many, joined the breakfast talk. Prince Abdul Mateen accompanied his father.
“The breakfast was held in the happiest and most intimate atmosphere like a family,” Hun Sen said on his social networks on April 30.
Hun Many said on his Facebook page after the breakfast that the occasion provided the opportunity for the next generation to continue the existing relationship developed by his father. Such a meeting not only underscores personal bonds but also demonstrates the two nations' future of harmony, peace and prosperity, he added.
The Sultan, who has ruled the oil-rich country since 1967, last visited Cambodia in 2022 when he attended the ASEAN Summit and paid a state visit.
Cambodia's ex-PM and Brunei ruler have developed strong personal relations over the years.
With Thailand’s former PM, Thaksin Shinawatra, they refer to each other as ‘Godbrothers’ to underline the strong relationship that binds them. At 77, the Sultan is the oldest of the trio, followed by Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen, who are 74 and 71 respectively.
Hun Sen visited Thaksin in February after he was released on parole on Feb. 18.
The Sultan departed the same day with Cambobodia leader saw him off.
