November 10, 2022
PHNOM PENH – Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Cambodia for achieving peace, stability and development, saying they are things the people of Ukraine want for themselves as well.
Kuleba lauded the achievement during his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 9, as leaders of ASEAN and other countries have begun arriving in Cambodia for the November 10-13 ASEAN Summit and related meetings.
Kuleba arrived in Cambodia on November 8 for the meetings and to sign the instrument of accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) with ASEAN leaders, scheduled to take place on the morning of November 10, according to the summit’s official agenda.
He met with Hun Sen at the Peace Palace and thanked Cambodia as the chair of ASEAN for releasing its statements expressing concern over the situation in Ukraine, as well as for Cambodia’s co-sponsoring the UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion and annexation of Ukrainian regions, according to Hun Sen’s social media post after the meeting.
“[Kuleba] expressed gratitude and lauded Cambodia for its support, noting that Cambodia suffered from war for a long time and has now attained peace, stability and development in all sectors, all of which are the wishes of the people of Ukraine,” said the post.
Hun Sen told Kuleba that Cambodia has also been invaded in the past so its people understand what the Ukrainian people are going through today.
“Cambodia understands the feeling of people in Ukraine and is against any invasion, threats or the use of force to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state, nor does Cambodia support any separation or encroachment on the territory
of other countries,” the post said, adding that Cambodia remains steadfast in its respect for the UN Charter and international laws.
Hun Sen further wished for peace and development for the people of Ukraine to be established again soon.
The ASEAN Summit will take place on the morning of November 11, followed by ASEAN’s related meeting such as the ASEAN-China, ASEAN- Korea and ASEAN-UN.
On November 12, the meetings include the ASEAN-Plus 3, ASEAN-India, ASEAN-Australia, ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-US and ASEAN-Canada dialogues.
On November 13, the second ASEAN Global Dialogue will kick off, followed by the 17th East Asia Summit (EAS). The closing ceremony of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and related meetings is set for the afternoon, along with the handover of the ASEAN chairmanship to Indonesia for 2023.
Hun Sen is expected to hold a press conference in the afternoon on November 13, according to the agenda.
Leaders of 34 countries from around the world and ASEAN have begun arriving for the summits. Some have already arrived, such as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, both of whom arrived on November 8 for bilateral talks ahead of the summit.
Other ASEAN leaders began arriving one after another on November 9, making for a busy day at Phnom Penh International Airport.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said it is vital that global and regional leaders attend theses summits because the world is facing many heated issues which need to be addressed.
He added that the meetings in Cambodia are an opportunity to talk about these issues and place the interests of people around the world at the top of the agenda because global issues can only be solved by big players.
“We see the leaders from the US, China and other countries in Europe as well as the leaders at the UN. All of them are important players in finding solutions for pressing issues in the region and the world,” Phea said.
Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at the Asian Vision Institute’s Mekong Centre for Strategic Studies, said there are many interesting items on the agendas of the summit, especially for political analysts, researchers and politicians and that Cambodia should be proud to host the summit amid these important issues taking place around the world.
“The issues such as the Myanmar crisis, South China Sea dispute, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – these are all issues that need commitments from all of ASEAN’s leaders and ASEAN’s partner,” he said.