Optimism Felt for Next Month’s ASEAN Summits Hosted by Cambodia

As the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and their sidelines are nearing, senior international affair expert and experienced foreign diplomat float optimism of Cambodia as the host.

In a recent seminar on Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship 2022, Senior Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia and Asian Vision Institute (AVI) Chairperson of Board of Directors H.E. Sok Siphana was very confident that the Kingdom will successfully host the events.

Cambodia’s success in hosting the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) in August and September as evidence are some key indicators that the country will handle the summits as fruitful, he said.

He viewed that interesting agenda will be the post-COVID-19 recovery, geopolitical intense between China and the United States, political crisis in Myanmar, South China Sea-related challenges, Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change issues.

ASEAN has always been at the core of Cambodia’s foreign policy to achieve national interests as well as to promote domestic and regional peace and political stability since the country joined the bloc in 1999.

Well-rounded Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia H.E. Mikami Masahiro observed Cambodia’s rapid growth and more capability in dealing with regional issues since the country first hosted ASEAN summits in 2002, wherein the ambassador was also part of.

Despite many complex challenges such as COVID-19, the situation in Myanmar, the war in Ukraine, as the ASEAN Chair for 2022 Cambodia succeeded in hosting ASEAN related meetings so far, he added.

Moreover, he observed that Cambodia’s reputation and credibility have also been strengthened as the country worked hard in the face of the adversity.

Cambodia is scheduled to host the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits from Nov. 8 to 13, 2022 in Phnom Penh.

The major sidelines include the 25th ASEAN-China Summit, the 23rd ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, the 25th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, the 19th ASEAN-India Summit, the 2nd ASEAN-Australia Summit, the 25th ASEAN-Japan Summit, the 10th ASEAN-US Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press