Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn met with the new UN representative to Cambodia on November 2, with both stating that they look forward to the continuation of the cooperation between the Cambodian government and the UN’s agencies in Cambodia.
Joseph Scheuer, the new UN Resident Coordinator in Cambodia, met with Sokhonn during a courtesy call on November 2.
“[Sokhonn and Scheuer] expressed satisfaction with the existing level of cooperation between Cambodia and the UN and exchanged views on its further enhancement. And they looked forward to the resumption of dialogue between the government and all UN agencies in Cambodia that were disrupted by the pandemic,” said ministry spokesman Chum Sonry.
Sokhonn said he appreciated the valuable contributions made by the UN team through the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) amid the pandemic, particularly the provision of Covid-19 vaccines and other medical equipment through COVAX – a global initiative aimed at providing equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
With help from the UN’s generous assistance together with the government’s vaccination strategy, he said Cambodia achieved one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world at over 95 per cent of the population covered.
The Kingdom’s top diplomat also recalled the recent fruitful meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. He noted that Guterres is set to attend the ASEAN Summit and related meetings scheduled for November 10-13, with both Sokhonn and Scheuer agreeing that it is important for Hun Sen and Guterres to take the opportunity to meet once again while in Cambodia.
Sokhonn and Scheuer also spoke about Cambodia’s active contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations, with Sokhonn underlining the Kingdom’s pledge to continue deploying “blue helmets” on UN peacekeeping missions to countries torn by conflict.
