PM Hun Sen: ASEAN-EU Summit, an Opportunity to Chart Future Cooperation

ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations, being held in Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 14, will be an opportunity for both sides to chart its future cooperation and enhance its existing relationship to the next level.

The remark was made by Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Chair of ASEAN 2022, in a written interview with EURACTIV Media ahead of the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit.

The Summit will be the first ever platform for the Leaders to discuss face to face in a frank and open manner on issues of strategic interest and common concern since the end of the COVID19 pandemic, he said.

At the end of the summit, he continued, the Leaders are expected to issue a Joint Statement that will highlight their collective aspiration to shape the future cooperation between both regions as well as their decisions to tackle issues pertaining to international security, among others.

“We have endeavored to enhance dialogue and promote cooperation on defence and security matters in key areas such as: maritime security, the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, the youth, peace and security (YPS), peacekeeping operations, military medicine, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, as well as on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Samdech Techo Hun Sen pointed out.

“We have explored potential areas of synergy between the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), namely: maritime cooperation, connectivity, the UN SDGs, economic and other possible areas of cooperation, and the seven priority areas of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, which include: sustainable and inclusive prosperity; green transition; ocean governance; digital governance and partnerships; connectivity; security and defense; and human security. We are guided by the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the ASEAN Charter, and the AOIP,” he said.

Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen also expressed the ASEAN’s and the EU’s commitment to preserving and protecting regional, and global peace, security and stability against traditional and non-traditional threats, as well as their support for an open, transparent, inclusive, and rules-based international order.

ASEAN has committed to deepening its engagement with the EU through its ASEAN-led processes and platforms, noting particularly the EU’s commitment to adhere to all relevant ASEAN-led security mechanisms, he emphasised.

“ASEAN has adopted consultation-based dialogue and cooperation approaches aimed at avoiding confrontation. We focus on issues that bind us instead of those that divide us. Such rules also apply to our relations with external partners. We do not seek to create military alliance or bloc politics. That is why external powers trust the various ASEAN-led regional mechanisms that forge constructive dialogue in building trust and confidence among many parties concerned,” said Samdech Techo Prime Minister.

 

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press