Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn is due to pay on a visit to Japan from January 21-24 to further strengthen relations and invigorate the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) recently established between Cambodia and the island nation.

During the visit, Sokhnon is set to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation, along with current regional and international issues of common concern with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, the foreign ministry said in a January 19 press release.

Sokhonn is scheduled to have separate meetings with the Japan-Cambodia Friendship Parliamentary League (JCFPL) and Japan-Cambodia Association (JCA), and preside over a reception at the Cambodian embassy in Tokyo commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties – established on January 9, 1953.

The top Cambodian diplomat’s visit “will renew the strong commitment of both governments to enhance the existing excellent relations and the recently elevated Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for mutual benefits of the two countries”, the release said.

For reference, a CSP is a broad, detailed, dynamic, long-term, result-oriented agreement between signatories that affirms a high degree of maturity in relations as well as mutual trust and commitment. In 2010, Cambodia and China entered into such a partnership, and trade between the two countries has increased ever since, as has mutual support for international politics.