As the Chair of the 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Cambodia, received separately here yesterday his counterparts from other ASEAN nations and ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Lim Jock Hoi.

On the occasion, the ASEAN defence ministers reaffirmed their support for Cambodia as the host of the 16th ADMM and their satisfaction with the good relations and cooperation between their respective countries and Cambodia.

In the meeting with H.E. Lim Jock Hoi, Samdech Tea Banh expressed thanks to the ASEAN Secretariat for all admin and other document coordination and support for Cambodia as the chair of the meeting this year.

The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. The ADMM aims to promote mutual trust and confidence through greater understanding of defence and security challenges as well as enhancement of transparency and openness.

Practical cooperation in the ASEAN defence sector has grown steadily since its inception in the areas such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, military medicine, and defence industry. In promoting confidence-building measures, the ADMM has also adopted the Guidelines for Air Military Encounters and the Guidelines for Maritime Interactions.

The Cambodian Ministry of National Defence is hosting the 16th ADMM and Related Meetings on June 21-22 in Phnom Penh.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press