W. Patrick Murphy (left), Ambassador of the United States of America to Cambodia and Santo Darmosumarto (right), Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Cambodia take part in a roundtable discussion in Phnom Penh. Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
Indonesia and the United States took centre stage during an Asean event in Phnom Penh on Thursday at the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies in a round table discussion on ‘Striving for ASEAN Community Vision 2045’. The event brought together the ambassadors of the two countries to discuss the road ahead for the countries making up the ASEAN region.
W. Patrick Murphy, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Cambodia, joined Santo Darmosumarto, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Cambodia in a roundtable discussion moderated by Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor, CCRS.
The two ambassadors made a presentation on their respective country’s priorities for the region and the road ahead.
“In celebrating 65 years of Indonesia-Cambodia diplomatic relations, it’s also important to look beyond our bilateral cooperation,” said Ambassador Santo. “There is ample room for Indonesia to work together with Cambodia in pushing for greater regionalism, especially within the context of Asean community building. Today’s event at CCRS will hopefully remind the audience that there is work to be done in this area.”
“It was informative and insightful as both ambassadors shared their diplomatic experience and knowledge on Southeast Asia and their vision to enhance ASEAN Community Vision 2045,” said Vichet Lor, Vice President of Cambodia-Chinese Commerce Association.
Indonesia is instrumental towards Cambodia’s journey to become a high-income country by 2050.
Cambodia and Indonesia have a long history of bilateral ties dating as far back as King Jayavarmam II of Khmer Empire who lived in Java Island in the 8th Century. There is growing cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia which is reflected in exchanges of high-level visits. The next Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation at the Foreign Minister level has been planned for this year.
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is considered one of the emerging markets globally due to its growing economic and diplomatic prominence on the regional and global stage. Indonesia looks forward to maximising the current business potential in Cambodia and opening new areas of investment cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, energy and global supply chain so that a greater and more balanced trade relationship materialises.
Indonesia also looks forward to becoming a new destination for Cambodian students studying abroad. This would help to further connect and encourage youth collaboration between both nations.
The United States applauded Cambodia for being a good host and chair of Asean 2022. America attaches great importance to South East Asia with a population of 600 million. Cambodia can benefit enormously from growing bilateral trade ties with Indonesia as Indonesia is predicted to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2045.