Taking Pakistan-Cambodia ties to a new high

The diplomatic relationship between the two Asian countries was established in 1952, just five years after the founding of the Dominion of Pakistan and one year before Cambodia gained its independence from the French. Pakistan was also among the first nations to recognise Cambodia as a sovereign state.

Despite over 70 years of diplomatic ties, however, the cooperation and trade between the two countries have been relatively limited.

During a Cross-Talk interview on Thursday, Zaheeruddin Babar Thaheem, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Cambodia, noted that the setting up of a Cambodian Embassy in Islamabad would be a game changer in taking relations to a new high.
He also committed to taking the Cambodia-Pakistan bond to another level during his mandate.

Thaheem, who presented his credential to King Norodom Sihamoni two years ago, said the two countries have the potential and conditions to promote their cooperation. He admitted that his mission had a slow start but “things are looking up now”.

“My time here has been about trying to increase the bilateral ties between Pakistan and Cambodia across multiple sectors and different ministries,” he said.

“With such a long history of diplomatic ties, however, our bilateral relationship—as far as having mechanisms to collaborate—hasn’t quite been fulfilled yet,” he said. “We have been trying to do people-to-people, government-to-government, and business-to-business.”

The Ambassador added that in the existing age, it is important for the two countries to focus on trade and economic cooperation, as countries need trade as much as they can while producing trade capacities with one another.

“The trade volume when I first came two years ago was about $30 million,” Thaheem said. “Fast forward two years, we have over $50 million. But it is not even reaching its potential. $50 million is still a very small number, considering that we both have a lot to offer one another.”

He claimed that the problem is the lack of supporting mechanisms that allow governments and business communities to interact frequently.

“From what we can see, one sector that dominates the number is the raw material for textiles,” Thaheem said. “As we know, Cambodia is a big exporter of finished garments to many parts of the world. We can provide all the material for that. I think we need supporting mechanisms to enhance that potential and reach other industries.”

“The pharmaceutical industry is the one we keep our eyes on. If you go to buy medicine today, you can see that many medicines are made in Pakistan. I believe we could provide some assistance in that sector as well. Halal meat is another sector that we can work on in Cambodia.”

Thaheem also wants to see the two countries expand their cooperation in multiple sectors, particularly defence education. All of these, however, also require many mechanisms, including upgrading MoUs to actual cooperation agreements between the two countries. And on the path to establishing those mechanisms, Thaheem believes that it is necessary for Cambodia to create an official resident mission in Pakistan.

“In saying that, Pakistan opened her embassy in Cambodia on August 14, 2005, and we have since had a resident mission and ambassadors, but we don’t have a Cambodian Embassy in Pakistan.

While Pakistan has an official embassy in Cambodia, the Kingdom currently only has an honorary consulate in Lahore. The Cambodian Consulate General, located at Zahoor Elahi Road, was launched on August 22, 2011.

While meeting Prime Minister Hun Manet for the first time on October 4, the Pakistani Ambassador requested the Cambodian Premier to establish a Cambodian Embassy in Pakistan to facilitate various mechanisms, especially to serve the trade sector.

In response, Mr Hun Manet agreed with the proposal, at least in principle.

“Prime Minister Hun Manet was well-informed and knew the current situation of our bilateral relations and what MoUs we have worked on,” Thaheem said. “Of course, my priority is to ask him to create a resident mission in Pakistan, which is well in line with Cambodia’s stance last year when she chaired ASEAN.”

“When he agreed, I was thankful because it is the right time now to increase bilateral relations and reach the true potential between the two countries across multiple spheres: trade, defence education, healthcare, labour, and so on.”

“Now, we are waiting for the government to make the official decision. There are so many things to do when you’re creating a resident mission, but I am hopeful that in the upcoming year, we will have the Cambodian mission in Pakistan. That will be a groundbreaking game changer.”

During the wait, the Pakistani Ambassador called on his fellow countrymen to visit Cambodia and enjoy the beauty of the Kingdom as well as the rich cultural heritage such as the Angkor Wat.

Having witnessed major events such as the SEA Games, the return of the Water Festival, and most recently the Sea Festival, Thaheem asserts that Cambodia is a very safe country for travellers.

“It is a privilege for me to be able to work here and witness those joyful events,” he added.

Source:The Khmer Times