South Korea and Cambodia officially elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership on Thursday at a summit of President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet in Seoul.
The announcement came “with full confidence in the future of the bilateral partnership” as the two countries acknowledged that their diplomatic ties have grown stronger over the past few decades, according to a joint statement released Thursday.
“Since the reestablishment of relations in 1997, the bilateral ties have greatly improved. Trade volume rose 20-fold, people-to-people exchanges grew 150-fold, and Korea rose to the country with the second-largest investment in Cambodia. Moreover, some 10,000 multicultural families have bound the two countries together,” Yoon said in the opening remarks at the summit.
“In response to the diplomatic breakthrough, our establishment of a strategic partnership holds great significance,” Yoon said.
During the talks, leaders of the two countries sought to strengthen economic development cooperation in Cambodia and envisioned Korea’s chances of greater involvement in Cambodia’s infrastructure construction projects.