(Phnom Penh): New Zealand Ambassador to Cambodia Raylene Siale Tagaloa Liufalani pledged to further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.

The commitment was made during a courtesy call on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday (Sep. 28) at the Peace Palace.

During the meeting, the ambassador highlighted that New Zealand and Cambodia are longstanding friends and partners, noting that New Zealand takes pride in its contributions to Cambodia’s socio-economic recovery, nation-building, and development.

She also underscored the excellent bilateral cooperation in key sectors, including demining and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, water resource management, climate change, the environment, agriculture, female and youth empowerment, and the provision of scholarships for Cambodian students to pursue study in New Zealand.

Furthermore, she recognised Cambodia’s vital regional role and expressed her gratitude to Cambodia for supporting the elevation of ASEAN–New Zealand relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

For his part, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet welcomed New Zealand’s contributions to Cambodia’s development and said both countries have significant potential to expand cooperation.

Both sides discussed opportunities in trade and investment, technology transfer, renewable energy, tourism, TVET and people-to-people exchanges.

The premier encouraged continued engagement between the New Zealand Embassy and relevant Cambodian ministries to deepen bilateral cooperation.
=FRESH NEWS