(Phnom Penh): Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), concluded a three-day official visit to Cambodia with a meeting on Friday afternoon (Sep. 19) with General Vong Pisen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), at the RCAF General Headquarters.
During their bilateral discussions, both commanders expressed high appreciation for the steady progress in military cooperation between the two countries and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further deepen collaboration. The visit coincided with the 33rd anniversary of Cambodia–Brunei diplomatic relations, first established in 1992.
General Vong Pisen highlighted Brunei’s contributions to Cambodia’s military development, particularly in human resource training, scholarships for command and staff courses, English language instruction, and the invitation of Cambodian officers to international conferences hosted in Brunei. He also thanked ASEAN member states, including Brunei, for their support in Cambodia’s ceasefire with Thailand and participation in the interim observer mission.
Looking ahead, General Vong Pisen proposed advancing talks toward a memorandum of understanding covering a broad scope, including reciprocal visits, military branch cooperation, intelligence exchange, combating transnational crimes, humanitarian missions, disaster response, and joint exercises.
In response, Major General Dato Haszaimi conveyed his gratitude for the warm welcome and praised Cambodia’s growing role in promoting women’s participation in peacekeeping operations, commending the proportion of Cambodian female peacekeepers as a sign of commitment to gender equality.
On the Cambodia–Thailand border issue, the Brunei commander reaffirmed his country’s satisfaction with its contribution to the ASEAN observer mission, calling it a demonstration of regional solidarity. He stressed that Brunei remains committed to strengthening defence ties with Cambodia in alignment with ASEAN’s collective goals.
The meeting concluded with both sides expressing optimism about building an even stronger and forward-looking military partnership.
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