At the outset, I would like to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. At the same time, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid for his efforts in leading the work of the Assembly at its seventy-sixth session, during a very tumultuous time.
Our theme of this session, entitled “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”, is indeed relevant to the current context. Global uncertainties have been exacerbated by the escalation of armed conflicts, the arms race, the rise in small-scale security alliances, the technology and trade wars, the imposition of economic sanctions and the mounting threats to multilateralism.
In fact, the war in Ukraine has not just complicated international relations in Europe but caused serious economic disruptions and exacerbated our food and energy security. The escalation of hostilities involving more and more actors, directly or indirectly and with no end in sight, coupled with the threat of nuclear war, has had serious impacts on the world at large.
The situation in the Korean peninsula remains alarming due to the preparations for a seventh nuclear test. This year, North Korea has launched dozens of ballistic missiles in response to military drills. In addition, the tension between the United States and China over the Taiwan issue is also of concern.
Overall, in this very challenging environment and as a country that has achieved a hard-earned peace in our own history, Cambodia is making great efforts to engage constructively with the United Nations in upholding international peace and security and promoting respect for the fundamental principles and values of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
The present gathering reflects the remarkable success of our collective efforts to overcome the unprecedented pandemic, yet the battle against that global health crisis is not over yet. New variants and other infectious diseases are emerging; what else could emerge in the future? A strong global health system, particularly the World Health Organization with its central coordination role, could help to build resilient and sustainable national health systems. Open and transparent multilateral engagement in the distribution of vaccines, driven by a true principle of shared responsibility, is the only way to prepare for and prevent future pandemics, coupled with the sharing of lessons learned and best practices, the transfer of technologies in vaccine research and development.
Moreover, another existential threat facing humankind is our vulnerability to climate change. We need to transform the process of addressing climate change issues today, not tomorrow. It has been 50 years since Governments were warned about the need to change our production and consumption patterns to avoid disaster. Sadly, ever since, we have only seen more loss of biodiversity, more land degradation and a growing scarcity of fresh water.
Our collective action must focus on global mitigation efforts to promote climate-resilient development. Our commitment to lowering the mean global temperature by 1.5° C requires dedicated climate financing and technology transfer to facilitate meaningful transition in mitigation and adaptation
efforts. The Glasgow outcomes adopted at the twenty- sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must be implemented with great urgency, bearing in mind the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
Moreover, the threat of the trade and economic decoupling arising from the United States-China rivalry will certainly dampen the prospects for global growth. Therefore, the fundamental transformative solution of the social, economic and political process is to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its heart, that can promote open international trade, reduce trade barriers and ensure the resilience of regional and global value chains.
Meanwhile, we need to pay greater attention to inclusive digital policies and regulatory frameworks conducive to greater investment in digital infrastructure, which is so essential to bridging the growing digital divides and generating new sources of growth. Enhancing green economic development is also an indispensable part of nurturing sustainable socioeconomic development through the expansion of cooperation in building green infrastructure, promoting energy transition and leveraging green technology.
This year, Cambodia is honoured to hold the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is now 55-year-old. We are proud to celebrate our historic milestone and the remarkable achievements we have made along the way. Throughout the years, ASEAN has been able to navigate the constantly changing geopolitical landscape to emerge as one of the most prominent and successful regional organizations, while making great strides in advancing its credibility and relevance in world affairs.
Our theme, “ASEAN A.C.T.: Addressing
Challenges Together,” highlighting a strong spirit of togetherness, encompasses all the key pressing issues I mentioned earlier. Of course, these challenges have far-reaching implications for the ASEAN community building process and our external relations. But as Chair of ASEAN, Cambodia is as committed as ever to consolidating our efforts to address our shared goals of bringing benefits to our peoples based on the spirit of ASEAN centrality, unity and solidarity.
ASEAN has been successful in coordinating towards accepting Timor-Leste as the eleventh member of the Association. Earlier in this meeting, the President of Timor-Leste expressed his country’s sincere aspiration to ASEAN membership, and I hope that later this year or early in the next Timor-Leste will become the eleventh member of ASEAN, which represents more than 600 million people. I thank the President of Timor- Leste for attending my statement here in the General Assembly Hall and hope that his country will indeed join our community.
The situation in Myanmar is worrisome, with its direct implications for the security and stability of the whole region, but we must recognize that the crisis is complex and deep-rooted. As ASEAN Chair, Cambodia is fully committed to helping Myanmar resolve the crisis and all our efforts are aimed at seeking a cessation of violence, the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need, and the ongoing building of trust among all parties concerned to enable an inclusive political dialogue, as mandated by the ASEAN five-point consensus.
Over the past two years, the Royal Government of Cambodia has made strenuous proactive efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) through the introduction of health measures, social and economic interventions and administrative measures. The Royal Government has set COVID-19 vaccination as a key strategic measure. As a result, Cambodia now has one of the highest coverage rates of vaccinated population in the world; in particular, we have achieved strong herd immunity, enabled the country to fully reopen in late 2021, and resumed all socioeconomic activities in the new normal. I take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all friendly countries that have provided vaccines to Cambodia through bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
In the social sector, the Royal Government has worked with development partners, including United Nations agencies, to launch and scale up a number of important programmes, such as a cash- for-work programme, aimed at improving community infrastructure and providing additional employment opportunities, and a cash transfer programme for poor and vulnerable households to help alleviate hardship and maintain the livelihood of the poor.
In the economic sector, the Royal Government has made unremitting efforts to address chronic structural problems, boost competitiveness and promote economic diversification. In fact, the Royal Government has
addressed major challenges faced by businesses through the implementation of the New Investment Law, the Cambodia Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035, the Strategic Framework and Programmes for Economic Recovery in the Context of Living with COVID-19 in a New Normal 2021-2023, the Law on Public-Private Partnership and the adoption of free trade agreements, such as the Cambodia- China Free Trade Agreement, the Cambodia-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Overall, the Cambodian economy is estimated to achieve a growth rate of 5.4 per cent by 2022, supported by a strong recovery in manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.
With respect to the democratization process, the recent communal election held in June reflected our continued efforts as more than 80 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots in a free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner. The appreciation and full support of the Cambodian people for the unremitting efforts of the Royal Government of Cambodia in preserving peace, political stability and socioeconomic development and in the successful fight against the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an overwhelming majority vote in favour of the ruling party.
Furthermore, with regard to peacekeeping missions, Cambodia has continued deploying thousands of its peacekeeping forces to missions in countries in crisis. More than 15 per cent of Cambodian peacekeepers serving in United Nations missions are women. They are role models, inspiring women and girls in societies that are often male-dominated to exercise their rights and participate in the peace process.
On cooperation with the United Nations, I wish to note that just yesterday, the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia issued a judgment upholding the life sentence of former Khmer Rouge Head of State for genocide, crimes against humanity and grave violations of the Geneva Conventions. That historical moment highlighted the outstanding cooperation between Cambodia and the United Nations, through the hybrid court, in bringing justice to the people of Cambodia, who suffered the heinous crime of auto-genocide. We can tell the world that the truth that has been revealed and justice served, and broadcast far and wide that this crime must never happen again in human history. I take this moment to express appreciation to all donors for providing a supporting budget and to our Cambodian compatriots for their cooperation in consolidating the national reconciliation process.
In conclusion, despite many challenges impacting our political, social, and economic progress, we remain as committed as always to attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals.