Brussels (FN), Dec. 15 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, in his capacity as the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2022, urged to accelerate the ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible for the benefit of the two blocs, adding that "we should not let political issues block free trade."

The premier spoke during the joint conference of the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations, held on 14 December 2022 in Brussels.

"The main purpose of our summit today is to have a free trade agreement between ASEAN and EU. The two regions should achieve this as soon as possible," the premier underscored.

"ASEAN shall not just wait for aids from EU, but serve as mutual compliments of the two regions' economies. We should not let political issues block free trade," the premier continued.

Samdech asked, regarding human rights, which countries in ASEAN that Europe sign with? How is the human rights situation in those countries?

He continued that "of course, we could not agree on everything, but our common goal is to connect the the two regions."
=FRESH NEWS