Phnom Penh (FN), Nov. 13 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio jointly announced their agreement to elevate the Cambodia-Japan relations to "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries next year.

The two leaders agreed during a bilateral meeting held on 12 November 2022 on the margins of the ASEAN Summits and Related Summits.

“Both leaders noted with satisfaction the existing excellent Cambodia-Japan ties, recalling the two visits to Cambodia by the Japanese premier and the two visits to Japan by premier Hun Sen this year alone. Both leaders stressed the importance of the longstanding relations and expressed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation in all fields. Premier Hun Sen highly valued Japan's major contribution to Cambodia's socio-economic development and thanked Japan for its assistance with Cambodia's electoral reforms. Samdech also called on his Japanese counterpart to assist Cambodia to reach its goal of "A Mine-Free Cambodia by 2025"," according to the outcomes seen by Fresh News on Sunday (Nov 13).

Kishida praised Samdech for his able ASEAN Chairmanship and fully supported Cambodia's initiatives to strengthen ASEAN Centrality and unity to bring about tangible results for ASEAN community and to address common challenges facing the region.

Both leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concerns, such as crisis in Ukraine and North Korea's repeated missile and nuclear tests, among others.

After the bilateral meeting, the two premiers presided over the signing ceremony (a separate press release is attached) and officially announced the logo for the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Cambodia and Japan in 2023.
=FRESH NEWS