Synopsis: Malaysian Ambassador Shaharuddin Onn praises the strong and evolving ties between the two nations—spanning government cooperation, business engagement, and people-to-people connections.
The Embassy of Malaysia in Phnom Penh celebrated the 68th National Day of Malaysia on Wednesday, highlighting the enduring friendship and growing partnership between Malaysia and Cambodia.
The event, attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service Hun Many along with senior Cambodian officials, diplomats, and ambassadors, underscored unity and cultural heritage under the theme “Threads of Heritage—Fabric of Unity.”
In his address, Malaysian Ambassador Shaharuddin Onn praised the strong and evolving bilateral relations between the two nations—spanning government, business, and people-to-people ties—and reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Cambodia across diverse sectors, from investment to regional collaboration within ASEAN.
“This is, in part, to showcase Malaysia’s rich and diverse cultural heritage in the form of our traditional costumes. At the same time, we see the theme as having many facets and relevancy—from the Malaysian national context; from the Malaysia-Cambodia bilateral relations context; and from the regional, in particular, the ASEAN context,” he said.
“Malaysia and Cambodia have always, since the establishment of our diplomatic relations, been very good and close friends,” he said.
“As the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Cambodia, I am very happy to see the excellent state of relations between our two countries, from all aspects-government-to-government; business-to-business; and people-to-people,” he said.
Ambassador Shaharuddin added that recent high-level exchanges further reflect the close and enduring ties between Malaysia and Cambodia. These include the visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Cambodia in 2023 and the reciprocal visit of Prime Minister Hun Manet to Malaysia in February last year.
This year alone, Cambodia welcomed several Malaysian dignitaries, starting with the official visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, followed by visits from the Minister of Law and Institutional Reform, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Chief Justice of Malaysia, the Chief of Army, and most recently, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
These high-level visits reflect the importance that Malaysia places on its relations with Cambodia, he noted.
Ambassador Shaharuddin added that Malaysia and Cambodia can strengthen and solidify the relations further, building on the existing and established solid foundation and bonds of friendship.
“While both Malaysia and Cambodia have identified a number of priority areas for cooperation, there are still other untapped or potential areas of cooperation, for both sides to continue to explore,” he said.