US Ambassador says Kingdom in ‘good position to lead’ on sustainability
US Ambassador says Kingdom in ‘good position to lead’ on sustainability
The US Ambassador to Cambodia says the government has a lot of challenges to address as chair of ASEAN but can show strong leadership on sustainable development in the region.
Brunei symbolically handed the gavel to Cambodia on Thursday, to take over the stewardship of the ten-nation bloc.
Ambassador Patrick Murphy says Prime Minister Hun Sen’s leadership of ASEAN in 2022 gives Cambodia the opportunity to set an exacting agenda.
“The ASEAN chair role is very significant,” Ambassador Murphy said. “The Chair is a convenor, sets the tone, sets the table and throughout the year Cambodia will have many challenges to address. The traditional security challenges in the region, the emergent challenges of the Myanmar crisis, but it will have an opportunity on its agenda to find room for sustainable development and, as a country that needs to focus on it, is in a good position to lead,” he said.
Ambassador Murphy noted that Cambodia was a founding partner of the Mekong US Partnership and its predecessor, the Lower Mekong Initiative, and has been working towards the sustainable development of the region, which covers Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and China.
He said the Kingdom’s past development had not always been environmentally friendly but it has showed renewed commitment to climate-related issues.
“The prime minister recently announced a moratorium on new coal-fired plants and will be looking at more renewable resources going forward but at the same time [Cambodia] still has a lot of energy needs,” he said. “It is also committed to stopping further hydro-electric dams on the main stem of the Mekong. These are very good for the environment but now they’re going to have to turn to more creative solutions to meet the growing energy needs.”
The US Ambassador’s comments came during a panel discussion at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, along with the US Ambassador to Laos and the Charge d’Affaires of Thailand and Vietnam. Khmer Times
