Egypt Thinks About Opening Phnom Penh Embassy
Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn visited Egypt on March 29-30 to strengthen diplomatic relations as it has reached 70 years. Photo: MFAIC.
- By Teng Yalirozy
- March 31, 2023 8:00 PM
PHNOM PENH – Egypt is mulling over establishing an embassy in Cambodia to deepen the relationship and promote cooperation.
Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn visited Egypt on March 29 and 30 as both countries have reached 70 years of diplomatic relations. Sokhonn met Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry.
In response to the growing ties, Shoukry spoke of the intention to open the embassy, Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
Both considered consultations between their ministries to explore ways to strengthen ties in all fields and forge ahead with an MoU signing for this purpose.
The promotion of trade and economic cooperation is crucial as the trade volume between the countries remains low.
Cambodia called on Egypt to take advantage of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Cambodia-China and Cambodia-Korea free trade agreements as well as the new law on investment of Cambodia.
In 2022, Egypt imported $4.2 million in goods from Cambodia, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database. In 2021, the figure was about $5 million.
During the visit, three MoUs were signed, on Cultural Cooperation, Cooperation in the fields of Archaeology, Museum and Heritage, and Cooperation between the National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations of Cambodia and the Institute for Diplomatic Studies of Egypt.
Cambodia and Egypt were committed to multilateralism, global peace, and security as well as to lending mutual support to International Organizations and Peacekeeping Operations.
The diplomatic relationship was established by the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk and Egypt’s late president Gamal Abdel Nasser. They were among the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
