International relations

Two US senators on Wednesday introduced the Cambodian Trade Act of 2019 bill, requiring the administration to re-examine Cambodia’s eligibility to access the preferential trade treatment granted by the US under the General System of Preferences (GSP). ...

Speaking at the event on the capital’s Chroy Changvar peninsula, Hun Sen appealed to both the “greatest power country” and democratic nations to avoid making such mistakes in the future. The prime minister did not mention any state by name, referring only to the “greatest power ...

The People’s Republic of China’s ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wentian, accused the West of attempting to sabotage the two nations’ friendship during a meeting with Cambodian officials, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Ket Sophann said on Tuesday. ...

French National Assembly vice-president Sylvain Waserman wishes to strengthen and expand diplomacy and cooperation with the Cambodian National Assembly, a statement issued on Monday said. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith have called on the French government to supply maps and other related documents to settle a border dispute, as they expressed their commitment to ending the spat. ...

Cambodia and Vietnam have largely completed border demarcation in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces at locations agreed by the two parties. But disputed areas were left untouched pending France’s assistance, according to border committee officials. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday there would never be a foreign military base in his country, following a news report that China was lobbying for a naval base in southwest Koh Kong province. The Asia Times, citing unidentified diplomatic sources and analysts, reported ...

At the Asean summit in Singapore on Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he hoped the bloc’s relationship with China would “root deeply”, hailing the Asian power as a “strategic partner”, while its Premier Li Keqiang called for improved trade and “healthier globalisation”. ...

National Assembly spokesman Leng Peng Long on Wednesday threatened unspecified “action” against the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) if “extremists” violated Cambodian sovereignty, as the body hit back at claims of interference by saying it was simply insisting on “due process”. ...

The government’s plan to take a new $2 billion loan for next year’s budget will increase the debt burden to 31.5 per cent of the GDP next year, an analyst from credit rating agency Moody’s said, adding that it remained at a moderate level compared ...

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand reached $3.16 billion in the first nine months – an increase of 14.08 per cent year-on-year. Imports to Cambodia were worth $2.65 billion, representing a 19.26 per cent increase in contrast with exports to Thailand that was valued at ...

A high-ranking Chinese official has vowed to boost ties with Cambodia to a new high, noting that the Kingdom has steady economic development during a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday. ...

The UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, is to land in the Kingdom on Monday, in her first official visit since questioning the “genuineness” of the July 29 national elections, polls she claimed were “one-sided”. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday slammed critics over claims that China is “invading” Cambodia, calling the argument “crazy”. Speaking to members of Cambodian diaspora in Geneva, Switzerland, Hun Sen said some people were concerned about the influx of Chinese nationals who live and work ...

Moody’s Investors Services has warned that Cambodia’s potential loss of its Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential trade access to the EU would weaken its economic growth and lead to a credit negative, a report released on Saturday says. It notes that while Cambodia maintained its ...

Russia has agreed to recategorise Cambodia’s outstanding $1.5 billion debt as an investment, pledging to provide more aid to the Kingdom next year. Prime Minister Hun Sen met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Brussels on Thursday. Mr Hun Sen had asked Russia to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his vow over the weekend not to negotiate with former opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Hun Sen reiterated that he would hold direct talks with the international community over political issues in the Kingdom. ...

After meeting with the European Commission, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had expected that Cambodia would one day lose its access to the bloc’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) preferential trade agreement and had “already requested low interest” loans from China, Japan, South Korea and ...

A senior Labour Ministry official said a withdrawal of the preferential Everything But Arms (EBA) trade agreement with the EU would not hurt the Kingdom’s economy. Ministry spokesman Heng Suor said the government had prepared plans in the event of an EBA withdrawal. However, he ...

EU officials have confirmed that it will take a total of 18 months to complete the procedure if Cambodia’s preferential Everything But Arms (EBA) trade agreement is to be withdrawn. According to EU Agriculture and Rural Development spokesman Daniel Rosario, the formal process has not ...

The European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (EuroCham) expressed its “serious concerns” on Monday over the “long-term negative impacts” of the EU removing the Kingdom’s access to the preferential Everything But Arms (EBA} agreement. It also expressed “hope that a dialogue can be implemented to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has left for his European tour, which will include attending an Asia-Europe meeting organised by the EU. Departing at 12:20am, he will lead a delegation at the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, Belgium. ...

Opposition figure Sam Rainsy has been invited to speak at the General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, according to a former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmaker. A government delegation is also set to attend the meeting, a National Assembly press release ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced the resumption of the MIA programme to recover the remains of American service personnel missing after action on Cambodian soil during the Vietnam War. The programme was suspended for more than a year after the US government imposed visa ...