Interior minister Sar Sokha (right) shakes hands with Australian embassy chargé d'affaires Pablo Kang during their May 2 meeting. Sokha is set to lead a high level interior ministry delegation on an official trip to Australian next month, where he hopes to gain valuable experience in managing police resources and countering cybercrime. Interior ministry
Minister of Interior Sar Sokha will lead a delegation from the interior ministry on a study visit to Australia in June, with the delegation hoping to gain new experiences and knowledge from Australia on the management of the National Police, as well as the fight against online crime.
The visit also aims to help Cambodian officials draw on strategic experiences related to immigration, cyber security, and decentralisation and deconcentration.
“The minister’s delegation hopes to gain new experience and knowledge from Australia on the management of the national police and the promotion of training police officers in the fight against technological crime,” the ministry said in a May 2 press release.
On May 2, Sokha, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister, met with Pablo Kang, chargé d'affaires of the Australian Embassy to Cambodia, at the ministry.
Sokha described the meeting as a demonstration of efforts to further enhance cooperation between the Australian government and the Cambodian interior ministry, both now and in the future.
“Sokha also thanked the Australian Department of Home Affairs for inviting him to lead a delegation on the study visit,” added the release.
During the meeting, Sokha and Kang discussed immigration, the fight against transnational crime, including human and drug trafficking, cybercrimes, public administration reform programs and social accountability in Cambodia. The two sides committed to strengthening their cooperation.
“The minister also expressed his hope that the Australian side would continue to provide assistance, including technical support, equipment and training to the ministry.
“Once again, Sokha hopes that the upcoming visit will be fruitful, providing benefits such as good knowledge and experience in on-the-job performance,” added the release.
In April, Sokha led a high-level Cambodian delegation to Switzerland and Germany for more than a week.
The release said that during the trip, Sokha gained additional knowledge about management systems and best practices from the two countries. The information he learned is being used to promote the decentralisation and deconcentration reform process, as well as improve local governance.
In March, Prime Minister Hun Manet traveled to the five-day ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia, which led to the signing of an agreement for future direct flights between Australia and Cambodia.
Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh’s (RUPP) Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, believed that the invitation to Sokha signifies the growth of the strong ties between the two nations.
He noted that as a member of the Five Eyes Organisation, Australia possesses sophisticated skills in gathering intelligence, as well as human resources and hardware which offer protection against potential cyber threats and counter-intelligence.
“Cybersecurity is a serious threat to state security due to its subtle, shadowy nature. Australia has always been a valuable partner for our national police, with Australian experts and officials sharing their skills and experience, allowing local authorities to do a SWOT analysis on cybersecurity concerns.
“Digitalisation is critical for supporting national growth and state security. However, it should be noted that the changing character of global security has changed towards more hazardous, sophisticated, and potentially fatal tendencies in information and communications technology (ICT), artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and drone warfare,” Mengdavid told The Post on May 3.
