Prime Minister Hun Manet will attend the ASEAN summit next week in Jakarta, Indonesia, in his first international meeting in his capacity as Prime Minister of Cambodia. He will be the youngest of the ten ASEAN leaders at the event.

Jean-François Tain, a geopolitical expert and attaché to the prime minister, said Manet will depart for the ASEAN Summit and related meetings, including the East Asia Forum, on September 4.

“From August 5-7, Prime Minister Hun Manet is expected to shake hands with the leaders of at least 17 countries, including the ASEAN bloc, Japan, South Korea, India, the US, Russia, Australia and New Zealand,” he explained.

“Cambodia, as a nation, should be proud of this, because Manet has committed to defending the Kingdom’s interests in front of the other 9 ASEAN leaders, as well as ASEAN’s interests in front of bloc’s partners,” he added.

The ASEAN leadership will gather for this, their 43rd summit, with many high-profile issues to be brought to the table. These include the crisis in Myanmar and contests for influence among global and regional superpowers in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as other global impacts.

In the meantime, Manet was bestowed with the honorific “Samdech” by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, through a September 2 Royal Decree. His full title is now “Samdech Moha Bovorthipadi Hun Manet”.

The King also granted Khuon Sudary, president of the National Assembly, the title of “Samdech”.

The title is traditionally granted to high-ranking leaders with profound knowledge.