Cambodia: Cambodian delegation, led by H.E. Ms. Yoeu Asikin, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, represented the country at the Opening of the Senior Officers Meeting (SOM) of the 38th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, held in Brunei Darussalam.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, in her statement, H.E. Ms. Yoeu Asikin highlighted Cambodia's commitment to transforming its agrifood systems to be more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. Cambodia recognizes that Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) remain a major threat to food security, livelihoods, and public health across the region.

In line with the 'Five Bold Actions for One Health' outlined by Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet at the recent OneHealth Summit in Lyon, Cambodia is ready to move from a national success story to a regional strategic leader. Building on 21 years of partnership with FAO-ECTAD, supported by the United States, the Pandemic Fund, and other partners, strong technical capacity and institutional experience have been developed in Cambodia.

Cambodia is now formally proposing to become a Regional Hub for GPP-TAD for the Greater Southern Mekong Epizone, serving as a center for surveillance, diagnostics, and coordinated response to high-impact diseases like avian influenza (HPAI) and African Swine Fever.

To turn this vision into action, Cambodia proposes four key initiatives such as establishing a regional cross-border data-sharing platform to strengthen early warning systems, piloting a public-private partnership (PPP) model under GPP-TAD, expanding efforts to include environmental surveillance, and setting up a Mekong Veterinary Epidemiology Training Centre.

To support this role, Cambodia is calling for FAO assistance in upgrading the National Agricultural Laboratory (NALS) to international reference laboratory status for priority diseases and introducing real-time, cloud-based tools for local agriculture officers to ensure faster, connected disease surveillance from community to regional level.

Cambodia is ready to lead a coordinated regional response to animal disease threats, turning national progress into stronger regional resilience and global health security.