Prime Minister Hun Manet (right) shakes hands with his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin in Phnom Penh on September 28. STPM
Prime Minister Hun Manet will visit Thailand on February 7 for talks on bilateral and multilateral cooperation with his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin.
Accompanying Manet will be foreign minister Sok Chenda Sophea and Sun Chanthol, first vice-chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), along with several other key government officials and business leaders from the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), according to a February 5 press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
During the visit, Manet and his wife will be granted a Royal Audience by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua.
Manet will pay separate courtesy calls on leaders of the Thai parliament including Senate president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai and speaker of the House of Representatives Wan Muhamad Noor Matha.
“The prime ministers will hold talks on bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas of common interest. They will also preside over the signing of numerous documents on bilateral cooperation. [Manet] will also deliver the opening remarks at a Cambodia-Thailand Business Forum,” it added.
Government spokesman Pen Bona noted the importance of maintaining good relations with the neighbouring country, and recalled how former Prime Minister Hun Sen transformed the border of the two kingdoms into one of friendship, peace, cooperation and development, as well as the exchange of tourism and goods.
“The prime minister’s visit to Thailand will foster the existing cooperation built by [Hun Sen]. He will strive to continue to nurture and expand cooperation.
“There are many topics of discussion planned to further enhance relations as neighbouring countries and benefit one another,” he added.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, believes that the trip will bring cooperation between the two ASEAN neighbours even closer, contributing to development, the exchange of trade, and people-to-people connections.
“Both sides exchange a substantial amount of trade. This demonstrates the excellent development of relations between the two countries,” he said.
Phea expects their discussions to focus on bilateral trade benefits and migrant workers. As many Cambodians are working in Thailand, he suggested that their talks touch on border security and the curbing of drug and human trafficking as well as other cross-border crimes, and means by which the two nations can support each other on the international stage.
Seng Vanly, a lecturer of international relations and regional political observer, said the trip would demonstrate the close attention both sides pay to bilateral relations that concern the economy, trade and investment.
He predicted that the two leaders will strengthen economic, social and political collaboration, as well as discussing overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand, with both sides having the same goals.
He said the Thai prime minister might want to see the development of the gas and oil sectors in the area between the two countries, and that Srettha might also want to see Cambodia join Thailand in the development of these sectors.
Meanwhile, some Cambodian migrant workers have taken to social media to announce that they will welcome Manet’s presence on Thai soil.
Srettha paid a formal visit to Cambodia in September 2023, where he met with the recently appointed Manet to discuss cooperation, just over a month after both took office.
