At the invitation of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia, His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka paid a state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 07 to 10 August 2019.
The President of Sri Lanka laid wreaths at the Independence Monument and paid homage in memory of the great war heroes and heroines of Cambodia. He also paid tribute at the Royal Memorial of His Majesty the late King-Father of Cambodia, Preah Bat Samdech Preah NORODOM SIHANOUK PREAH BOROM RATANAK KAUDH.
During this visit, His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena had an audience with His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia. His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka attended a state banquet hosted in his honour by His Majesty the King at the Royal Palace, where he also met with Samdech Vibol Sena Pheakdei Say Chhum, President of the Senate and Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly.
The President of Sri Lanka also had a bilateral discussion with Samdach Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, during which both Leaders reaffirmed commitment to further deepen bilateral relations which are firmly supported by the cultural and religious affinity of the two nations.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen hailed the state visit of President Maithripala Sirisena as an important landmark and a great impetus driving the excellent ties between the two friendly countries to new heights. President Maithripala Sirisena termed Cambodia as a close friend and an important partner of Sri Lanka in the region. Both leaders also noted with satisfaction that Cambodia and Sri Lanka have developed a strong and mutually beneficial partnership at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels with a view to ushering peace, stability, and sustainable development of the two nations and the world.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen highly commended the achievements made by the Government of Sri Lanka under the leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena in promoting sustainable development and social welfare of the country. President Maithripala Sirisena also lauded the continued success of the Cambodian Government in maintaining peace, stability, high economic growth, a robust tourism industry, and improvement in the quality of life of the Cambodian people, under the leadership of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The two leaders underscored the importance of the regular exchange of high-level visits and consultations to strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation in all feasible areas for the mutual benefits of both nations. Towards this end, the two leaders welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Consultations between foreign ministries of the two countries and expressed desire for the first meeting to be convened at the earliest.
The two leaders concurred to task the institutions concerned of both countries to work together in order to increase bilateral trade, investment, and tourism exchanges, and encouraged closer collaboration between the private sector of Cambodia and Sri Lanka in fully exploiting economic potentials and business opportunities of both countries. To this end, both leaders applauded the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and Colombo Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.
Both Leaders noted that Cambodia and Sri Lanka have great potentials in tourism and agreed to urge all relevant institutions to work closely together to organize joint promotional activities to increase tourism exchange, tapping into the rich cultural and natural heritage of both nations.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena expressed satisfaction at the growing close relationship between Cambodian and Sri Lankan Buddhist communities, which they desire to be further encouraged by the relevant authorities of both countries.
Emphasizing the importance of education and human resource development for socio-economic development, the two leaders tasked the educational institutions of both countries to consider creating cooperation mechanisms and exchange programs.
The two leaders expressed commitment to enhance international cooperation and agreed that the representatives of both countries should collaborate more closely on various regional and international fora for peace, stability, security, sustainable development, and shared prosperity.
His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena and Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen exchanged views extensively on regional and international issues of common interest and concern, and following conclusion of their cordial discussions the two leaders witnessed the signing of two documents, namely:
(i). Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.
(ii). Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and Colombo Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.
Both leaders also agreed to expedite the signing of the following documents:
(i). Agreement on the Exemption of Visa Requirement for Holders of
Diplomatic and Official Passports.
(ii). Agreement on Bilateral Air Services.
(iii). Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and President Maithripala Sirisena presided over the opening of the Cambodia-Sri Lanka Business Forum. Hon. Vasantha Senanayake, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, also addressed the Forum on the vast potentials for trade exchange and investment activities between the two countries.
During his stay in Cambodia, the Sri Lankan President attended the enshrinement ceremony of the sacred Bo tree sapling from Sri Lanka at the Lanka Preah Kosomaram pagoda in Phnom Penh and also participated in the planting ceremony of Na trees gifted by the President to the Meditation Center of Ouk Dong Mountain as a symbol of friendship between Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
President Maithripala Sirisena expressed his deep appreciation to His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia and Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen as well as to the people of Cambodia for the warm welcome and hospitality extended during the visit. The President extended an invitation to His Majesty the King and also to Samdech Techo Prime Minister to visit Sri Lanka at a convenient time in the future.
