Phnom Penh (FN), Jun. 28 – Chum Sounry, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led a delegation to pay a working visit to Cuba from 24-28 June 2024 to explore the opportunity to broaden the cooperation between the two countries.
Chum Sounry co-chaired the 3rd Bilateral Consultations with Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, in Havana on 26 June 2024. The meeting reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between Cambodia and Cuba and reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation, focusing on trade, agriculture, health, sports, education, culture and information.
The two sides stressed further efforts to deepen cooperation in trade, emphasizing the importance of expanding linkages between line ministries, chambers of commerce and private sectors through virtual meetings and delegation exchanges.
On agriculture, Deputy Foreign Minister Camejo expressed Cuba’s deep thanks for Cambodia’s assistance and support in the field of rice, especially the enhancement of Cuba's rice sector and its production capacity. Both sides agreed to encourage the full implementation of the agreements reached between the two Ministries of Agriculture and to expedite an MoU on rice development in Cuba.
On health, Secretary of State Sounry thanked Cuba for continued cooperation with Cambodia, especially the provision of scholarships to general practitioners, the promotion of specialist doctors, transfer of medical technology, sending doctors to treat cancer, diabetes and other illnesses, and helping train Cambodian doctors. He also highly appreciated Cuba’s cooperation in helping Cambodia to establish a specialized cancer hospital in order to have the capacity to treat the disease effectively.
With regard to education, the Secretary of State thanked Cuba for offering scholarships to Cambodian students and called for more scholarships for medical, technical, and language trainings in Cuba, especially in postgraduate degrees. He suggested both countries’ Education Ministries / institutions to explore a tuition fee-free scheme, where students cover their own living expenses, which is currently popular among Latin American countries, to enable more Cambodian students to study in Cuba, particularly in medicine and pharmacology.
On sports, the Secretary of State expressed Cambodia’s sincere thanks for Cuba’s support during 32nd SEA Game in Cambodia and encouraged the full implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Physical Culture and Sports, signed in 2022 between Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation.
In the area of information, both sides committed to deepen cooperation by expanding the exchange of information to include more content related to culture, tradition, tourism, and trade, as well as through exchange visits between journalists from both national news agencies.
Both sides agreed to encourage the effective implementation of the MoU on Cooperation and Cultural Exchange Program for 2022 -2027 signed between the two countries’ Ministries of Culture in October 2022.
The meeting also discussed the cooperation in the ASEAN-Cuba framework as well as in the UN system and exchanged views on some regional and international issues of common concerns.
The consultations concluded with a strong commitment to ongoing dialogue and cooperation, with the next round to be held in Phnom Penh at a mutually convenient date.
During his stay in Havana, Secretary of State Chum Sounry also called on Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba. He conveyed to the Minister the greetings from Cambodian Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea, as well as his message he looks forward to working closely with Minister Parrilla in moving the relationship between the two nations to new heights.
Secretary of State Sounry briefed Minister Parrilla on the main outcomes of the 3rd Bilateral Consultations, underlining the productive discussion on the strengthening and broadening of the bilateral cooperation, especially on diplomatic, political and economic relations and on some potential areas, including education, health, agriculture, culture and sports.
Minister Parrilla and Secretary of State Sounry touched on the shared commitment to further enhance the cooperation in the ASEAN-Cuba relations framework and in the UN system and international organizations and had discussion on ways to further strengthen ties in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
During a meeting with Maury Hechavarría Bermúdez, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, at the latter’s request to discuss the cooperation in the field of agriculture, the Secretary of State and the Deputy Minister expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved so far in agriculture cooperation and discussed ways to further enhance it.
Secretary of State Sounry conveyed to the Cuban side the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture’s wishes to encourage the full implementation of the agreements reached between both Agricultures Ministries and to expedite the procedure for the signing of an MoU on rice development in Cuba in the near future.
It should be noted that while in Havana, Secretary of State Sounry and the delegation also had a get-together with Cambodian students who are studying in Cuba.
=FRESH NEWS
