President Erdogan says Türkiye sees Cambodia as important partner in Southeast Asia

Turkish president welcomes Cambodia’s participation in Board of Peace as founding member - Türkiye, Cambodia sign Military Framework Agreement in presence of Erdogan, Cambodian Premier Hun Manet

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Türkiye sees Cambodia as an important partner in Southeast Asia, highlighting the rapidly developing bilateral relations in recent years. Erdogan made the remarks at a joint news conference with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet following one-on-one and delegation-level talks at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. “We see Cambodia, with which our relations have developed rapidly particularly in recent years, as an important partner in Southeast Asia,” he said. Erdogan said he and Manet comprehensively discussed ties, recalling that Türkiye and Cambodia had agreed to work toward raising bilateral trade to $1 billion on a 2018 visit to Türkiye by then-Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. “Our efforts to achieve this target are still continuing,” Erdogan said, expressing hope that the Türkiye-Cambodia Business Forum held earlier Friday would help strengthen contacts between the two countries’ business communities. The Turkish president said theey also discussed cooperation in trade and investment as well as the defense industry, energy, education and culture. Erdogan expressed satisfaction with Cambodia’s interest in Turkish defense industry products, saying there was significant potential for cooperation in the field. “God willing, we will further develop our cooperation with them,” he said. Erdogan highlighted projects carried out in Cambodia by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Yunus Emre Institute, saying they contribute significantly to strengthening people-to-people ties. “We support the education of Cambodian students through the Türkiye Scholarships program,” he added. Turning to regional and international issues, Erdogan said cooperation between Türkiye and Cambodia also contributes to efforts to establish global peace, stability and prosperity. He welcomed Cambodia’s participation in the Board of Peace as a founding member. “Cambodia’s participation ... is highly welcome. I believe they will continue to contribute to efforts based on a two-state solution in Palestine,” he said. Erdogan also addressed the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, saying Türkiye hopes it will be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means on the basis of international law. “We continue to support civilians affected by the clashes,” he said. The president said Türkiye has so far delivered assistance to more than 3,000 people in cooperation with Cambodian authorities and “we will continue our humanitarian assistance.” Cambodian premier praises Türkiye’s role in peace efforts Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet highlighted Türkiye’s growing role in regional and global affairs, as well as the two countries’ expanding cooperation in a range of fields. “Türkiye’s proactive and constructive engagement in international efforts to promote peace and stability, including in the Middle East, is commendable,” Manet said at the news conference. Manet praised Türkiye’s development, strengthening national identity and strategic autonomy, as well as its increasingly prominent role in regional and global affairs. Noting that Cambodia and Türkiye have maintained friendly relations and productive cooperation for more than six decades, Manet said his visit opened a new chapter in steadily developing bilateral ties. He said he and Erdogan held comprehensive talks on the current state of relations, shared priorities and the future direction of cooperation. “We have taken concrete steps to strengthen our cooperation in the political, defense and security fields. Indeed, today we signed a military framework agreement, marking a very important step in this direction,” he said. Manet said the two sides also reaffirmed significant potential for expanding bilateral trade, facilitating investment and strengthening private-sector partnerships. He said Cambodia, through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, stands ready to work with the Turkish business community as a strategic gateway to broader Asian markets. The Cambodian premier thanked Turkish development agency TIKA for its contributions to Cambodia’s socioeconomic development, including infrastructure development, women’s empowerment and capacity-building initiatives for Cambodian Muslim women. Manet said Cambodia attaches great importance to expanding cooperation with Türkiye in tourism, education and cultural exchanges. He added that the two leaders stressed the importance of working together through the UN, ASEAN and other regional and international platforms. Manet congratulated Türkiye on becoming an ASEAN dialogue partner, and said Cambodia looks forward to further strengthening concrete cooperation between Türkiye and ASEAN to contribute to regional integration, connectivity and shared prosperity. Manet also invited Erdogan to visit Cambodia. Türkiye, Cambodia sign military framework agreement Türkiye and Cambodia also signed a Military Framework Agreement during Manet’s visit, in the presence of Erdogan and Manet. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan signed the agreement on behalf of Türkiye, while Deputy Defense Minister Prak Sovanna signed on behalf of Cambodia.