As a small country, Cambodia’s ambition lies not in military strength but in peace building

Khmer Times
November 18, 2024

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet assured that Cambodia, as a small country, our ambition lies not in military strength but in peacemaking with respect to international laws.

The premier spoke on Monday afternoon at the Executive Committee Meeting of the Internationale démocrate centriste-Centrist Democrat International (IDC-CDI) in Siem Reap.

On that occasion, Hun Manet underlined that Cambodia embraces an independent foreign policy with respect to international laws. This requires that we strive to strengthen our national resilience in political, security, socio-economic, and cultural fields. Cambodia stands ready to contribute to peace across our regions.

As a matter of fact, Cambodia has lost several decades to its protracted civil war, but we have managed to restore full peace for more than two decades and have achieved prosperity through economic liberalisation and reintegration into the global economy to the present day.

The fact that Cambodia will be hosting the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on the Mine-Free World next week is testimony to how Cambodia has emerged stronger and more resilient from being merely a victim of war to becoming one of the torchbearers of peace and globally recognised as one of the most active deminers and mine-action advocates.

He further underlined that we have recently witnessed the rise of multipolarity in the new world order, driven in part by globalisation, technological advancements, and the rise of emerging economies. Today’s emerging 21st-century world leader is marked by a multiplicity of actors, civilisations, and cultures. In other words, it is a world of interconnectedness and interdependence. In Southeast Asia, we fully embrace these multiple civilisations.

Diversity demands that we respect different forms of political governance and institutions, even variants of democracies. Cambodia, once a thriving ancient civilisation connecting Asian trade routes, now seeks to be a bridge builder in the modern era by enhancing our global connectivity.

Hun Manet added that under the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) leadership, we aspire, along with like-minded countries and political parties, to support multilateralism and pluralism in political governance. Given past history, peace is the core foundation of CPP’s political philosophy, which seeks to build a harmonious, tolerant and inclusive society where people, despite their social backgrounds and political orientations, can live side by side. A society that can settle differences through talks without resorting to extremism and violent political culture.

Premier Hun Manet recognised that IDC-CDI has made great strides towards becoming a globally recognised core community of 109 political parties from 83 countries.

Hun Manet underscored that, as the IDC-CDI’s Vice President, the CPP has proudly contributed to the development and strengthening of Cambodia as a democratic country in the region. We have actively participated in various regional and global political initiatives, using our own experience in peace building and reconciliation.

The premier continued that as a small country, our ambition lies not in military strength but in peacemaking. After all, we only seek to live in peace and prosper as a sovereign state with territorial integrity. The CPP, together with IDC-CDI, is indeed proud to address regional challenges and advance peace-building efforts aligned with IDC-CDI’s core democratic values and principles.Fresh News