TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, met the Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transportation, H.E. Peng Ponea, on Friday, March 22, 2024, in Phnom Penh.

The meeting took place just two weeks after the bilateral meeting between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Hun Manet on the sidelines of the ASEAN – Australia Special Summit in Melbourne on 5 March 2024, where the two leaders exchanged views on the potential cooperation in infrastructure and connectivity.

"Enhanced connectivity paves the way for stronger bilateral cooperation, especially in trade and economics," expressed Ambassador Santo Darmosumarto, as quoted from the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On infrastructure development, Minister Peng Ponea underscored the Cambodian government's present emphasis on the advancement of waterways and railways. He invited the Indonesian government and private sector to take part in this endeavor.

Ambassador Santo expressed a commitment to delve deeper into opportunities for Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to engage in infrastructure development in Cambodia. He highlighted, “Indonesian SOEs possess valuable experience in spearheading infrastructure projects abroad, recently in the Philippines and Timor Leste".

Ambassador Santo also underscored Indonesia's extensive experience in developing railways across Java Island and expressed the potential for cooperation with Cambodia in this area. He added that Indonesia's train manufacturing company, PT. INKA, which was visited by the previous Minister of Public Works and Transportation, H.E. Sun Chantol, in 2019, further illustrates Indonesia's capabilities in this sector.

Human resources development was also a topic of discussion, with Ambassador Santo conveying Indonesia's intentions to offer more capacity-building programs and scholarships in this field.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Cambodia. Ambassador Santo envisions transforming the strong historical bonds between the two nations into tangible economic relations. To facilitate this goal, the Embassy intends to organize an infrastructure investment forum in Jakarta in October 2024, aimed at promoting investment opportunities from Cambodia to Indonesia and vice versa.

KEMLU.GO.ID

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