(Phnom Penh): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed confidence that the ongoing state visit of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., along with his own official visit to the Philippines earlier this year, reflect the strong friendship and firm commitment of both governments to further elevate Cambodia–Philippines relations.
Samdech Thipadei made the remarks during a bilateral meeting held on the Monday (Sep. 8) at the Peace Palace.
“Cambodia attaches great importance to its long-standing relations with the Philippines, based on the principles of mutual respect and shared interests. Over the years, our bilateral partnership has advanced across all areas, including defence and security, trade and investment, economic cooperation, and people-to-people connectivity,” the premier underscored.
The Cambodia–Philippines leaders’ meeting yielded fruitful results, including the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding on Air Services and Cooperation in Education, as well as an Exchange of Notes on Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime.
On trade, investment, and economic cooperation, both sides discussed concrete initiatives and mechanisms involving both government and private sectors. Cambodia expressed readiness to be a reliable partner in contributing to the Philippines’ food security. Premier Hun Manet also thanked the Filipino community in Cambodia for their contributions to the socio-economic development of both countries. Cambodia welcomed more Filipinos to visit as tourists, investors, and business partners, while also celebrating the growth of people-to-people ties.
In the areas of social development and human capital, both countries agreed on priority actions to enhance cooperation in education, technical and vocational training, labour welfare, and healthcare—sectors that directly improve the quality of life of citizens in both nations.
Samdech Thipadei added that, “In the field of defence and security, we will continue strengthening cooperation through capacity building, joint training, and military exchanges. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to combating transnational crime, especially cyber fraud, through information-sharing and law enforcement cooperation. On political cooperation, Cambodia will host the 5th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in 2026. The JCBC serves as a bilateral mechanism to review progress and outline future directions of our partnership.”
At the regional level, the premier reaffirmed Cambodia’s full support for the Philippines as it assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship next year, and pledged Cambodia’s readiness to contribute to strengthening ASEAN unity and centrality.
Looking ahead, President Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to further broaden cooperation in all areas to deliver growth, prosperity, and well-being to the peoples of Cambodia and the Philippines. Prime Minister Hun Manet also thanked President Marcos Jr. for leading a Philippine business delegation to the Cambodia Business Forum, enabling the private sectors of both countries to connect and build partnerships for growth and innovation.
=FRESH NEWS
