Cambodia and the Philippines Pledge to Strengthen and Deepen Bilateral Cooperation

Cambodia and the Philippines Pledge to Strengthen and Deepen Bilateral Cooperation

On the morning of 8 September 2025, at the Peace Palace, Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines, and his high-level delegation during their state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 7 to 9 September 2025.

At the outset, Samdech Borvor Thipadei extended a warm welcome to His Excellency the President and the delegation on their state visit to Cambodia. He affirmed that the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries is a testament to their strong friendship and joint commitment to further promoting and enhancing bilateral relations. Samdech Borvor Thipadei highly valued the progress of the excellent relations and cooperation between Cambodia and the Philippines, and stressed that Cambodia attaches great importance to its long-standing relationship with the Philippines, which is grounded in the principles of mutual respect and shared interests.

In response, His Excellency the President expressed his profound gratitude to the Royal Government of Cambodia and the people of Cambodia, and to Samdech Borvor Thipadei personally, for the warm and gracious hospitality. He concurred with Samdech Borvor Thipadei’s remarks on the progress of bilateral relations, emphasising cooperation in key areas such as strengthening military-to-military ties, trade and investment, and economic collaboration. The President added that while the current relationship is strong, both countries still possess considerable potential, offering opportunities for deeper and more enduring cooperation.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed ways to promote and strengthen cooperation within the bilateral framework in a number of priority areas, including security and national defence, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism, energy, and people-to-people connectivity.

The two leaders also exchanged views on further enhancing cooperation through multilateral mechanisms, both within ASEAN and in regional and international frameworks, to contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity.

With regard to the Cambodia–Thailand border situation, the President expressed support for the ceasefire and affirmed the Philippines’ readiness to assist in promoting a permanent ceasefire to ensure peace and stability for both countries.

In turn, Samdech Borvor Thipadei thanked the President for supporting the Cambodia–Thailand ceasefire and expressed appreciation for the Philippines’ participation in the Interim Observer Team (IOT) in Cambodia, as well as for increasing the number of its observers.

Following the fruitful discussions, the two leaders presided over the signing ceremony of three documents:

   1.  A Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services

   2.  A Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation in the Field of Higher Education

   3.  An Exchange of Notes on Co-operation in Combating Transnational Crime

SP-STPM: Unofficial Translation