Vientiane, Lao PDR, 20 October 2024 – Samdech Maha Rathasapheathika Thipadei Khuon Sudary, President of Cambodia’s National Assembly, met this morning with Tan Sri Dato' (Dr.) Johari bin Abdul, Speaker of Malaysia’s House of Representatives, the Dewan Rakyat. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN-Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Samdech Khuon Sudary expressed support for the Malaysian parliament as next year’s host of the AIPA General Assembly and confidence that it would be organized successfully under the leadership of Tan Sri Dato' Johari.

She expressed deep thanks to the Malaysian Speaker for appreciating the real situation in Cambodia and Malaysia’s contribution to peacekeeping, rebuilding and developing the nation over the past three decades. Following the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991, Malaysia sent peacekeepers to Cambodia and its companies have since been investing in the country, notably in the banking and energy sectors.

Samdech Khuon Sudary urged Tan Sri Dato' Johari to continue encouraging Malaysian investment in Cambodia, notably in the halal export sector. As members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), she said both countries had significant opportunities for market expansion, noting that they had recently agreed to set up a Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.

Tan Sri Dato’ Johari expressed his congratulations and appreciation for Cambodia’s rapid growth under the leadership of former prime minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen and his successor Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet. He also congratulated Samdech Maha Rathsapheathika Thipadei Khuon Sudary on her election as President of the National Assembly.

The Malaysian Speaker said Cambodia had great agricultural potential and that Malaysia aimed to promote and expand cooperation in the fields of food security, climate change and renewable energy. He said he had asked young Malaysian lawmakers to visit Cambodia and learn about the election process following smooth, peaceful, just and non-violent elections in 2023.

Both Speakers pledged to continue strengthening ties between the two countries, especially between parliaments for mutual support in regional and global inter-parliamentary fora.