AKP Phnom Penh, February 24, 2021 --

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Prak Sokhonn received here yesterday H.E. Maria Amelita C. Aquino, newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Both sides spoke highly of the good bilateral cooperation between the two countries and discussed a wide range of cooperation areas, pointed out a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFA-IC).

Both sides agreed to speed up the bilateral negotiations toward the completion of the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation in order to increase their two-way trade and investment.

The Cambodian top diplomat asked H.E. Ms. Maria Amelita C. Aquino to encourage more investors to invest in rice silos and mills for export to the Philippines, and told her of the preparation for the 3rd Cambodia-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) Meeting this year as well as the direct flight resumption between the two countries after the COVID-19 issue eases to boost their tourism and investment sectors.

H.E. Prak Sokhonn also thanked the Philippine Government for continuing to provide scholarships to Cambodian students and civil servants focusing mainly in the fields of sciences and technology.

For her part, H.E. Ms. Maria Amelita C. Aquino lauded the Royal Government of Cambodia for the good prevention and management of COVID-19 spread, which has provided confidence for the Filipino people and businessmen in the Kingdom.

H.E. Ms. Ambassador also reaffirmed her government’s support for Cambodia in hosting the 13th ASEM Summit this year.

The meeting also touched upon the strengthening of cooperation between Cambodia’s National Institute of Diplomacy and International Cooperation (NIDIR) and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Philippines in developing the capacity of diplomatic officials.

(Photo: MFA-IC)

By C. Nika