Japanese Ambassador pledges to further cooperation with Cambodia

Japanese Ambassador pledges to further cooperation with Cambodia

Mikami Masahiro, Ambassador of Japan, has pledged to continue to cooperate with Cambodia, in his yesterday’s message marking the first anniversary of his diplomatic mission in Cambodia.

The Japanese diplomat also was committed to further boost the ties of friendship between the two countries.

“One year has passed so fast after I arrived in Cambodia as the Ambassador of Japan on Sept. 1. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Cambodian people for their warm welcome and message,” he said. “After my arrival, I started to learn Khmer in order to post videos in Khmer on the Embassy of Japan’s Facebook page every week. This is a very difficult task for me who has never learned Khmer before, but with practice and training weekly, I began to feel happy to learn about the Cambodian culture through language learning.”

During the past year, Mr Masahiro paid working visits to some provinces in Cambodia. As the Co-Chair of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor), he visited the famous world heritage sites, i.e. Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap province, Sambor Prei Kuk Temple in Kampong Thom province and Preah Vihear Temple in Preah Vihear province. He also visited Preah Sihanouk province and Poipet city of Banteay Meanchey province, two key economic hubs of Cambodia.

“I would like to visit other provinces to better understand the real situation in Cambodia,” he added.

The Ambassador recalled the visit of Motegi Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, to Cambodia on Aug. 21 and 22, 2020 during which he agreed with Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to gradually resume travels between the two countries by sticking to the preventive measures against COVID-19.

“I would also like to introduce a Japanese sentence ‘ピンチはチャンス’ which means ‘Crisis is an opportunity’. Even under such circumstance, I will still consider what I can do as the Ambassador of Japan and continue to try to further deepen the friendship between our two countries in cooperation with you,” underlined the ambassador said. Phal Sophanith – AKP

Credited: Khmer Times