Marcos, Cambodian Prime Minister eye cooperation on digitalization, 3 others

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen have stated their intention to further deepen the partnership between the Philippines and Cambodia by exploring possible cooperation in several fields, including digital transformation.

This came after Marcos had a bilateral meeting with Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Thursday.

“They (Marcos and Hun Sen) committed to expanding the extent of the two countries’ productive partnership over the last 65 years and exploring partnerships in a wide range of areas, including digitalization, health services, logistics, and assisting small business,” Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said in a press statement.

It was on Aug. 20, 1957 when the Philippines and Cambodia established their formal diplomatic relations.

During the state visit of former president Rodrigo Duterte to Cambodia in 2016, cooperation agreements in the areas of labor, sports, combating transnational crimes and tourism were signed.

Marcos’ meeting with Hun Sen occurred a day before the formal opening of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits hosted by Cambodia.

Aside from the plan to explore new partnerships, Marcos and Hun Sen also discussed the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, one of the ASEAN member-states.

Marcos also mentioned during the bilateral meeting the need to examine the “dynamics” of politics in Myanmar, while engaging with the country “in every way possible,” according to Garafil.

Marcos and Hun Sen both agreed that “patience” is essential for resolving the Myanmar crisis.

“Mr. Prime Minister, as you have great experience in this matter, perhaps your advice to be patient, is the best that we can do right now,” Marcos, as quoted by the OPS, told Hun Sen during the bilateral meeting.

“But we can still do more in terms of engagement in Myanmar. I’m in full agreement with you, Mr. Prime Minister, that that is the way forward,” he added.

The ASEAN summits this year will primarily focus on the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.

In April 2021, ASEAN member-states, which included Myanmar, agreed on a peace plan dubbed as “five-point consensus,” which calls for an immediate end to violence in the country and seeks dialogue between the military and the opposition movement.

Following the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021, the junta-led nation experienced widespread unrest as civilians protested military rule.

According to Garafil, Marcos and Hun Sen also had a long discussion regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.