PM Hun Sen: Russia, Cambodia Fight Covid-19 Crisis Together

PM Hun Sen: Russia, Cambodia Fight Covid-19 Crisis Together

Asean and Russia have to work together to fight against the Covid-19 crisis, says Prime Minister Hun Sen.

CPP president Hun Sen’s remark was made today via video conference at the Roundtable Conference on “The Role of Russia and ASEAN’s Responsible Political Forces in Strengthening the Architecture of Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific”, with the United Russia Party organising it.

Mr Hun Sen said the Covid-19 pandemic arrived at a troubling moment when multilateralism is under attack due to the rise of unilateralism, populism, and protectionism.

“First and foremost, we need to focus on our most pressing task that was the fight against Covid-19. We need to take it as a common mission of humanity to save lives from the deadly pandemic, and any forms of political disruptions should be avoided,” Mr Hun Sen said.

“This worrisome trend does not even exclude the humanitarian aspect of the Covid-19 vaccines as countries are competing for vaccine nationalism, protectionism, and discrimination, despite the fact that the majority of the world population is in dire needs of the vaccines to save lives,” he said.

He added that the pressure has obstructed the right to self-determination, and the right to choose a development path that fit countries’ national context.

“In the post-Covid-19 crisis, we have to jointly promote a resilient recovery. I am optimistic that Russia and ASEAN can do a lot more collectively in this regard through enhancing trade, investment, and tourism flows, among others,” he said.

Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the United Russia Party also promised with the Cambodian government to seek another vaccine to help Cambodia reduce the Covid-19 transmission.