During his four-day overseas mission to the ASEAN Summit and related meetings, Prime Minister Hun Manet held bilateral, trilateral, and informal dialogues with the leaders of several countries. He discussed the strengthening and expansion of relations and cooperation in all sectors, as well as exchanging views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern.

Manet – who returned from the September 4-7 43rd ASEAN Summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on September 7 – attended 13 meetings, delivered 12 speeches and held several meetings with heads of state and top leaders of regional and international institutions, according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Within the framework of the ASEAN Summit, Manet also attended the 43rd ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS), which was presided over by Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the rotating chair of ASEAN.

He also presided over the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for Development Partners in Agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises Cambodia-Philippines; the 26th ASEAN-China Summit; 24th ASEAN-Korea Summit; 24th ASEAN-Japan Summit; 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit (China, Japan, Korea); 26th ASEAN-US Summit; 11th ASEAN-Canada Summit; 20th ASEAN-India Summit; 18th East Asia Summit; 3rd ASEAN-Australia Summit; and the 13th ASEAN-UN Summit.

Under bilateral and tripartite frameworks, Manet met with the ASEAN secretary-general; the presidents of Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea; the prime ministers of China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Cook Islands; the sultan of Brunnei; and the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Aside from tripartite discussions with the prime ministers of Vietnam and Laos, Manet also held informal talks with the US vice president; the prime ministers of Australia and India; and several other heads of states and leaders of regional and international organisations.

“In the bilateral, trilateral and informal dialogues, [Manet] and other top leaders of regional and international institutions discussed the further strengthening and expansion of all relations and cooperation in all sectors and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern,” said the release.

During his speeches to various forums and meetings, he emphasised the importance of peace in the region and beyond, describing it as the foundation for the economic and social development of humanity in all countries.

“[Manet] was also involved in discussions on potential areas for bilateral and multilateral cooperation with several leaders who agreed to strengthen cooperation with Cambodia in many areas, such as trade, investment, agriculture, education, tourism, culture, production chain connectivity, and people-to-people connections,” added the release.