At the beginning of next year, Prime Minister Hun Sen will pay an official visit to the Central European nation of Slovenia after talks with his colleague Janez Janša, during which the two leaders pledged to strengthen ties in various fields.

Hun Sen and Jansa had a virtual meeting on November 9 to promote bilateral relations before Cambodia, which will host the Asia-Europe (ASEM13) meeting on November 25 and 26, according to the Prime Minister’s post on Facebook on November 9.

“Working in a bilateral framework, [Hun Sen] in [Jansa] agreed to strengthen and expand potential cooperation in a number of areas, including the economy, trade, tourism, health and other sectors, and to exchange visits, which will contribute to the success of these joint efforts, “the statement said.

Both sides agreed that the foreign ministries of the two countries would meet and review all available funds for international co-operation – starting with the waiver of all visa requirements for diplomats and officials when visiting each other’s countries.

Hun Sen and Janša also agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against Covid-19 and to work for a free trade agreement between ASEAN and Europe and other potential assistance that will enable a smooth ASEAN summit to be held in 2022 presided over by Cambodia.

“During the meeting, [Jansa] also invited [Hun Sen] to visit Slovenia. He accepted the invitation and said that he would visit Slovenia at the beginning of next year, “they wrote in the announcement.

Kin Phea, director of the Institute of International Relations of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that although the two countries are located on different continents far from each other, they can still offer each other political and diplomatic – as well as economic – support if a trade agreement is reached. .

For example, he said that this year’s participation of Slovenia in ASEM13 will help make the meeting for Cambodia successful in the light of this new spirit of positivity and friendship between the nations through their leaders.

“We see that the Cambodian government has made serious diplomatic efforts to win over all countries in Europe in order for the upcoming summit to be successful. We certainly do not want any ASEM13 member state to be absent from the meeting, especially our friend Slovenia,” Phea said.