Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 24 – The newly appointed US Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy has expressed his commitment to strengthen the US-Cambodia relationship, according to US Embassy Phnom Penh’s Facebook page dated Wednesday.

“Today [23 October 2019], Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy met with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace. The two discussed long-standing US prosperous, democratic, and sovereign Cambodia,” the US Embassy wrote on Facebook page yesterday.

“Ambassador Murphy expressed his hope that steps can be taken in the coming weeks and months to strengthen this important relationship between our two countries and peoples.”

Cambodia-United States established diplomatic relations on 29 June 1950. The relations were broken in May 1965, but were re-established on 2 July 1969. On 12 April 1975, the US mission was evacuated, several days before the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh.

When the freely-elected Royal Government of Cambodia was formed on 24 September 1993, the United States and the Kingdom of Cambodia immediately established full diplomatic relations in May 1994.

The US’s mission to Cambodia supports efforts to combat terrorism, promote democracy and human rights, foster economic development, and bring to justice those most responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed under the Khmer Rouge regime.