site.btaBulgarian Prime Minister Borissov Confers with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

October 16 (BTA) - "We appreciate the significance of the
 relations of traditional friendship and mutually advantageous
cooperation between Bulgaria and Cambodia," Bulgarian Prime
Minister Boyko Borissov said on Wednesday as he conferred with
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is paying an official
visit here.

The Bulgarian head of government stressed at the meeting that
the two countries will mark the 60th anniversary of their
diplomatic relations.

The two PMs expressed readiness to work for invigorating
bilateral interaction and for broadening the political dialogue
between Bulgaria and Cambodia. Hun Sen's visit is a step
precisely in this direction, it was noted during the visit.

"We must promote and revive the pragmatic relations we had with
Cambodia in the past," the Bulgarian Prime Minister said at a
news conference at the Council of Ministers after his meeting
with Hun Sen. Borissov added that Cambodia is reopening its
embassy in Sofia, while the Bulgarian embassy in Phnom Penh has
been closed. "I hope that we, too, will be able to reopen our
embassy there," he said.

Borissov hopes that the two countries will reactivate their
relations soon and stressed that Bulgaria can be of use to
Cambodia in the relations with the EU.

The two PMs discussed the advancement of relations between the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU. Hun
Sen invited his Bulgarian counterpart to attend the Asia-Europe
Meeting (ASEM), which his country will host in the autumn of
2020, and extended a formal invitation to Borissov to pay an
official visit to Cambodia.

Emerging from the talks, the Cambodian head of government told
the media that this is his fifth visit to Bulgaria and his first
 since the early 1980s. "Since then, both countries have
undergone a number of domestic political changes, too, but, as
old friends, we always try to meet," the guest said, stressing
that the links between the two countries go almost 60 years
back. "We will not forget what Bulgaria did for Cambodia," Hun
Sen said, thanking for the help of this country against the
Khmer Rouge genocide. "The Cambodian people is indebted to and
grateful for Bulgaria's support in the past, and we share the
grief of the three Bulgarian families who lost their brothers
and fathers in the battles in Cambodia in the early 1990s," the
Cambodian Prime Minister said.

He was referring to the ten Bulgarian peacekeepers who were
killed in 1992 and 1993 as members of the UN-led mission in
Cambodia.

Economic Cooperation

The opportunities for an expansion of bilateral economic
contacts, the encouragement of contacts between the two
countries' business communities and the promotion of two-way
investment activities figured high on the agenda of the
conversation. Specific cooperation in culture, home affairs and
tourism was also discussed.

The host side said that it is ready to consider opportunities
for joint actions in regional development and public works,
environmental protection, exchange of experience and experts,
and organizing training for energy professionals, considering
Bulgaria's extensive experience in the electric power industry.

Borissov said that an important understanding had been reached
and an investment promotion agreement will be drafted fast. This
 agreement will give investors security, and the trade between
the two countries will be protected.

There will be a joint political commission between Bulgaria and
Cambodia, and a working intergovernmental economic commission
will be set up, too.

Education

The traditions in bilateral ties are evidenced by 100 Cambodian
nationals who have completed their higher education in Bulgaria
and who now occupy top positions in various spheres of public
life in their country. "I am glad that the delegation you head
also includes such Cambodian nationals, which is a clear sign
that Bulgarian higher educational establishments offer
high-quality and competitive education," the Bulgarian PM told
his host.

"In promoting our relations in education, the most effective
model for its implementation is to establish direct cooperation
between the two countries' universities because they are
autonomous," Borissov told his guest.

Hun Sen said at a news conference after the talks that Borissov
had confirmed the possibility of reviving the student exchange
programme between the two countries. The guest pointed out that
nearly 200 Cambodian students studied in Bulgaria during the
1980-1989 period.

Earlier in the day, in the presence of the two prime ministers,
the responsible ministers and deputy ministers of the two
countries signed an intergovernmental Agreement on Economic,
Scientific and Technological Cooperation, a Programme for
Cooperation in Culture for the 2019-2021 Period, and a
Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the
Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute and Cambodia's National Institute
 of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Hun Sen is the first Cambodian Prime Minister to visit this
country in nearly 40 years. Bulgaria is part of his European
tour, which also includes the Czech Republic and Hungary. Hun
Sen visited Bulgaria in 1981 as Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of
Kampuchea. MY/LG


/СН/