February 14, 2024
PHNOM PENH – A top Cambodian parliamentarian has described a visit by two members of the Bundestag – the German federal parliament – as making a significant contribution to cooperation between the two nations.
National Assembly (NA) president Khuon Sudary met with Johannes Steiniger and Stefan Heck at the NA headquarters in Phnom Penh on February 13.
Steiniger and Heck, both members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), Germany’s largest opposition party, are paying an official visit to the Kingdom from February 12-14.
Following the meeting, Sudary’s cabinet chief Kep Piseth told reporters that the German delegation had expressed a keen interest in the development of Cambodia, and in particular its rapid progress from a war-torn nation to one of peace and development.
“Both sides also held discussions on parliament-to-parliament cooperation, with pledges of future exchanges between the members and officials of both parliaments,” he said.
An NA social media post explained that Sudary saw Germany as an important development partner for Cambodia.
“Under the seventh mandate, the government and the NA have a clear will to focus on promoting people’s livelihoods and accelerating the country’s economic growth. We will do whatever is possible to achieve the goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050,” it said.
According to the post, Germany has provided $843.6 million in aid grants, as well as $35 million in loans, since 1992.
Steiniger described the visit, and his meeting with Sudary, as aiming to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two countries, particularly through their legislative and executive bodies.
Separately on the same day, Sudary also met with Hungarian ambassador to Cambodia Tibor Baloghdi for talks. During the meeting, both sides shared their appreciation for excellent bilateral relations, which contribute to peace and stability, both locally and internationally.
Baloghdi also suggested that Sudary pay an official visit to Hungry at a suitable time in the future, in order to bring relations between the two nations closer, an invitation which the NA president accepted.
An NA social media post explained that Hungry has supported Cambodia in various sectors since the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. It also provided donations of Covid-19 vaccines during the recent Covid-19 pandemic.