Romanian-Cambodian agreement regarding elimination of visas for diplomatic passports and cooperation memorandum, signed at MAE

Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Melescanu and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn on Thursday signed a bilateral agreement on the elimination of the visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and professional passports. 

Also, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Romanian Diplomatic Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. 

"The official visit of the Minister, in the context of the 55th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, represents a very important political signal that the Government of Romania and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia convey on the common interest for the revival of the traditional cooperation relations. In this context, we have emphasized the contribution of the former king Norodom Sihanouk to the development of the close friendship and solidarity between our peoples," said Teodor Melescanu. 

He went on to mention that in the dialogue with Minister Prak Sokhom, alongside the bilateral political and economic issues, they also approached aspects that are found on the international agenda and cooperation within the international forums. 

The Romanian Minister highlighted the "upward" trend of political-diplomatic relations in recent years, marked by the establishment in 2017 of MAE consultations at state secretary level. Melescanu thanked the Cambodian authorities for their support for opening, in the near future, the first Honorary Consulate of Romania in the Kingdom of Cambodia, in Phnom Penh. 

"I relayed to the Cambodian counterpart the interest of the Romanian side in continuing the political dialogue and strengthening the traditional relations with the Kingdom of Cambodia, in all areas of activity, with emphasis on economic and educational cooperation, components stimulated including by the existing cooperation framework between the EU and the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as by the participation of the two countries in the EU-ASEAN dialogue, the Francophonie and ASEM. In this context, we discussed the most important developments in the economic relations development, the priority sectors being the oil and gas industry, agri-food industry, IT and tourism. We paid a special attention to boosting cooperation on education, an area that is seen as an important milestone in Romanian-Cambodian relations," he said. 

Prak Sokhonn congratulated all Romanians on the occasion of the anniversary of a century from the creation of the modern Romanian state. He also wished Romania success in exercising its mandate at the presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the first half of next year. 

"We are very pleased with the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation in recent years. My visit today is meant to contribute to the strengthening of political relations and to the identification of new areas of cooperation. I am accompanied by a delegation of businessmen, who this afternoon will meet with their counterparts from Romania, and I hope that this meeting will bring more dynamism to our economic partnership," he said. 

The Cambodian minister noted that the documents signed Thursday at the MAE headquarters will facilitate travel for diplomatic and professional passport holders and will allow for enhanced cooperation between the diplomatic institutes of the two countries. 

"We also discussed the creation of interdepartmental working groups between the Ministries of Commerce of the two countries. Cambodia welcomes Romania's intention to revitalize cooperation in the field of education and to invite Cambodian diplomats to take part in programmes for young diplomats. He also discussed the possibility of sending our students to universities that can offer scholarships," Prak Sokhonn said.