Prime Minister Hun Manet of the Kingdom of Cambodia has visited Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev welcomed Hun Manet, and the two sides held a meeting in an expanded format.
Although Cambodia is geographically remote from Azerbaijan, relations between the two countries go back more than 30 years. It is no coincidence that the Prime Minister of Cambodia conveyed to the President the greetings of King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia and former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, said in a statement to the press: “I recall the meeting I held here in Azerbaijan 12 years ago with your father, the former prime minister, who is now speaker of the Senate. This is a continuation of our policy. We are good friends and partners.”
In a globalizing world, Cambodia means new prospects for political and economic cooperation for Baku. Above all, the two countries have good political ties within the framework of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). There are also bilateral contacts. It is not excluded that these contacts will become even more intensive in the near future.
One notable point was President Ilham Aliyev’s remark that “trade turnover between our countries is still at a very low level. However, I once again express my confidence that after the prime minister’s official visit we will witness a major revival in that area. We also discussed the possibilities of creating joint production facilities in various industries and cooperation in tourism and education”, as well as Hun Manet’s view that “I agree with Mr. President that commercial and trade ties between our countries, as well as relations in other areas, are still at a limited level”.
In fact, this is not surprising. The geographic distance between the two countries is quite large. Different cultures, in turn, also affect economic relations. But amid changing conditions, the two countries’ agreement to develop mutual economic ties is a positive development.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that during the Soviet Union, hundreds of Cambodian students studied in Azerbaijan. The head of state believes this tradition should be restored and opportunities for mutual education created in both countries. This will also help further expand contacts between our peoples.
In recent years Azerbaijan has been interested in young people from both Africa and Southeast Asia coming to our country to study. Just as there was experience in this area during the USSR, we are now interested in restoring that tradition. In particular, foreign students studying at Karabakh University, becoming acquainted with Azerbaijani culture and building ties with Cambodia in the future could yield positive results in the long term.
President Ilham Aliyev has also been invited to visit Cambodia. It is not excluded that we will soon witness a visit by the head of state to Cambodia as well.
Turan Rzayev
Political writer for Globalinfo.az
Read also
