(Phnom Penh): Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. highlighted that more than 7,000 Filipinos are currently working in Cambodia, contributing to education, healthcare, and development sectors. He noted that the Filipino community serves as a bridge to strengthen connections between the two countries.

Philippine president spoke on Monday (Sep. 8) during a joint press conference following his bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

The president also acknowledged shared challenges, including human trafficking, cybercrime, and cross-border crime, which affect both populations and societies.

“Over 7,000 Filipinos work in Cambodia, contributing to education, health, and development. They are a bridge connecting our two nations culturally. We welcome recognition of Filipino culture and enterprises, and we are pleased to see growing exchanges between our peoples,” the president underscored.

President Marcos Jr. further emphasised that both countries have agreed to enhance cooperation and enforce cross-border institutional frameworks to enable fast, streamlined, and effective joint responses. This underlines the importance of people-to-people relations and facilitates smoother travel between the two nations.

He added that, as ASEAN members, both the Philippines and Cambodia play key roles in promoting ASEAN centrality on global issues. He expressed support for Cambodia backing the Philippines as the ASEAN Chair in 2026 and discussed new partnership initiatives to further economic cooperation, security issues, and commitments to regional peace.

Cambodia and the Philippines first established diplomatic relations on 20 August 1957, which were severed in 1975 during the Khmer Rouge regime. Relations were restored in February 1992 following Cambodia’s Paris Peace Agreements. Since then, bilateral relations have steadily grown across economic, security, education, health, labour, agriculture, trade, science, technology, innovation, and environmental sectors.

In February 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet and his spouse led an official visit to the Philippines, where both leaders reaffirmed the commitment to enhance bilateral ties and cooperation across multiple sectors.
=FRESH NEWS