Cambodia’s top diplomat has urged diplomatic staff to monitor, analyse and assess the current regional and global situation, in order to turn challenges into opportunities and maximise national benefits, particularly as the global economic situation remains fragile.

Sok Chenda Sophea, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, explained that current geopolitical challenges include the Myanmar crisis, the South China Sea issue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict and the tensions arising from geopolitical rivalry.

In addition, he noted that other traditional and non-traditional security issues, including climate change, natural disasters, as well as food and energy security, remain urgent and need to be addressed.

"Despite a gradual recovery, the global economic and financial situation remains fragile. In the above context, and in order to successfully implement our foreign policy and independent diplomacy based on the rule of law, we must strive to evaluate the present situation. We must also strengthen our institutional capacity, so we can turn challenges into opportunities and maximise the core national benefits for the Kingdom,” he said.

His remarks came as he addressed the March 28 opening ceremony of the foreign ministry’s annual review meeting.

Chenda Sophea described the work that will need to be done to accomplish this, noting that ongoing professional capacity building and human resources training, especially in diplomacy, foreign affairs and international relations, will be essential.

This will allow diplomats to maintain loyalty to the nation, and give them the skills, talents, ingenuity and flexibility they will need to become “champions” of protecting the interests of the nation and the people.

“I appreciate the timely and effective response of each of our diplomats and civil servants. They have a sincere patriotic conscience, work hard for the motherland and pay close attention to the national interest, as well as protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, in order to ensure peace, stability and socio-economic development, without fear of exhaustion," he said.

Ministry standing secretary of state Sea Kosal explained that in 2023, while facing a challenging geopolitical situation and a rapidly developing region, Cambodia had implemented a foreign policy that prioritised maintaining long-term friendly relations with partners, while diversifying networks with new friendly countries and international organisations.

He said the ministry currently has 676 officials, 471 of them based at the headquarters and 205 at the embassies of Cambodia abroad.

“When compared to the large-scale bilateral and multilateral diplomacy work we are responsible for, the number of officials is low, and not suitable for our workload,” he added.

“By comparison, for similar diplomatic work, Singapore, a city-state known for the efficiency of its human resources, has 1,111 officials serving at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while neighbouring Laos has 1,200 foreign officials. Thailand and Vietnam each have more than 2,000,” Kosal continued.