The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Phnom Penh celebrated the 20th anniversary of its diplomatic relation with Cambodia on Wednesday at the Intercontinental Hotel with the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhon.
In his speech, Ambassador Kim Weon-jin said that he was very optimistic about the current progress in Cambodia as well as the friendship between the two countries. To Ambassador Kim, this friendship is unshakeable.
"Please allow me to quote a Cambodian proverb saying that a bunch of chopsticks could not be broken. Likewise, our solidarity is becoming a «bunch of force» that will stay forever," said the ambassador.
According to Ambassador Kim, the diplomatic relation between Cambodia and South Korea was first established in 1970. But it was interrupted in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over the country. It was reopened again in 1997 after Prime Minister Hun Sen paid a state visit to South Korea.
Since the reopening of the diplomatic relation, to help the Cambodian government develop the country, the Republic of Korea has provided loans amounting to $218 million, and grants amounting to $77 million to Cambodia for the last five years. In 2013, South Korea was the fifth largest bilateral donor to Cambodia.
Korean investment is also very active in the kingdom. Two-way trade has increased sixfold since 1997. South Korea is also the second largest foreign direct investor in Cambodia, with the amount of investment totaling to $2.9 billion.
Moreover, the opening of direct flights between South Korea and Cambodia brings almost 250,000 people from South Korea to visit Cambodia every year, while there are an estimated 5,000 Koreans in Cambodia and nearly 10,000 Cambodians in Korea.
Mr. Kim also said that the Cambodian government highly values South Korea's leading role in the field of foreign direct investment (FDI), tourism, cultural exchange, development cooperation, vocational training, IT, construction, finance, and airline business. As a result, the Embassy of South Korea in Cambodia "is committed to building on these robust exchanges and cooperation to take our bilateral relationship to a higher level."
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