At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Le Minh Hung, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet will pay an official visit to Viet Nam and attend the Third ASEAN Future Forum from June 8 to 9, 2026.
In an interview with Nhan Dan Newspaper’s resident correspondent in Cambodia, Uch Leang, Acting Director of the Department of Asian, African, and Middle East Studies at the International Relations Institute of Cambodia under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, and President of the Cambodia Alumni From Viet Nam Association, said that Prime Minister Hun Manet’s official visit to Viet Nam and participation in the Third ASEAN Future Forum hosted by Viet Nam in Ha Noi carry special significance not only for Viet Nam–Cambodia relations but also for ASEAN cooperation and regional integration at a time of profound changes in both the regional and global landscape.
According to the Royal Academy of Cambodia scholar, the visit reflects Cambodia’s high regard for its good-neighbourly relations, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainable partnership with Viet Nam. It provides an opportunity for the two countries’ senior leaders to further strengthen political trust, exchange views on strategic cooperation orientations, and promote the effective implementation of agreements reached in key areas such as economics, trade, investment, defence, security, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
As the two countries move towards the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027, the visit is expected to create fresh momentum for making Viet Nam–Cambodia relations increasingly substantive, effective, and far-reaching.
Uch Leang noted that Prime Minister Hun Manet’s participation in the Third ASEAN Future Forum hosted by Viet Nam in Ha Noi demonstrates Cambodia’s strong commitment to building a united, resilient, and sustainably developing ASEAN Community.
Under the theme “Shaping Our Future Together: Peace, Prosperity, and People-Centred,” the forum offers Cambodia an important opportunity to share its perspectives and contribute to discussions on strategic issues shaping the region’s future, including digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) governance, energy security, green growth, sustainable development, and resilience in the face of emerging challenges.
According to the Cambodian researcher, the visit also reflects Cambodia’s increasingly proactive, active, and responsible role in regional and international affairs.
Prime Minister Hun Manet’s participation not only helps reinforce ASEAN’s spirit of unity, consensus, and centrality, but also demonstrates Cambodia’s determination to work with fellow member states to promote dialogue, strengthen cooperation, and maintain a peaceful and stable environment amid growing strategic competition among major powers, non-traditional security challenges, and fluctuations in the global economy.
From a broader perspective, the Cambodian scholar stressed that the visit reaffirms the shared determination of Cambodia and Viet Nam to further deepen their good-neighbourly friendship and comprehensive cooperation while contributing positively to regional peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development. It is not only an important diplomatic activity between two close neighbours but also sends a strong message of solidarity, political trust, and shared responsibility in shaping a peaceful, prosperous, resilient, and people-centred ASEAN future.
According to the Cambodian expert, Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to Viet Nam comes at a time when bilateral relations are developing dynamically and both countries are preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2027. It offers an important opportunity for both sides to review the implementation of existing agreements while identifying new areas of cooperation to make bilateral relations deeper, more effective, and more modern in the coming period.
Overall, the visit will not only strengthen the foundations of traditional friendship and political trust between Viet Nam and Cambodia but also provide fresh impetus for more substantive, effective, and in-depth bilateral cooperation.
With shared strategic interests and strong political commitment from the leaders of both countries, Viet Nam and Cambodia are well-positioned to elevate bilateral relations to a new level while contributing positively to ASEAN’s peace, stability, resilience, and prosperity, in line with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
Regarding the theme of the Third ASEAN Future Forum, Uch Leang observed that Cambodia’s Pentagonal Strategy Phase I and ASEAN’s development orientation share many important commonalities. Both place people at the centre of development, pursue sustainable growth, improve human resource quality, promote digital transformation, ensure energy security, strengthen climate resilience, and respond effectively to emerging challenges.
He noted that Cambodia’s priorities in human resource development, economic modernisation, governance reform, green transition, and digital transformation are closely aligned with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and the theme of the Third ASEAN Future Forum: “Shaping Our Future Together: Peace, Prosperity, and People-Centred”.
The Cambodian researcher emphasised that, at a time when the region and the world are facing increasingly complex challenges such as AI governance, energy security, climate change, and strategic competition among major powers, the convergence of Cambodia’s vision with that of ASEAN reflects a shared determination to build a resilient, innovative, and inclusive ASEAN Community. This alignment not only enables Cambodia to participate more deeply in regional cooperation initiatives but also helps the Kingdom make effective use of opportunities arising from ASEAN integration in implementing its Pentagonal Strategy.
Uch Leang stated that Prime Minister Hun Manet’s participation in the Third ASEAN Future Forum in Ha Noi is significant at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. For Viet Nam–Cambodia relations, it provides an opportunity to further increase high-level exchanges, strengthen political trust, and advance cooperation in key areas such as economics, trade, investment, education, defence, security, and infrastructure connectivity. The Prime Minister’s presence at a regional initiative launched by Viet Nam also demonstrates Cambodia’s support for efforts to promote dialogue, cooperation, and sustainable development within ASEAN.
At the regional level, Cambodia’s active participation helps reaffirm ASEAN’s unity, consensus, and central role in addressing regional and international issues. It also offers ASEAN leaders an opportunity to exchange views, enhance mutual understanding, and seek cooperative solutions to shared challenges. In this way, the forum not only deepens the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Cambodia but also strengthens ASEAN’s cohesion, adaptability, and collective strength in responding to the rapidly evolving regional and global strategic environment.
