*Kerry Set for Inaugural Visit to Kingdom* Khmer Times/Ros Chanveasna | Sunday, 17 January 2016 | 13 views
[image: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/files/news/20050/1453051157.jpg] US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (L) meet with foreign ministers of Germany, France, China, Britain, Russia and the European Union at a hotel in Vienna, Austria on July 7, 2015. Reuters/Carlos Barria United States Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Cambodia for a two-day official visit next week, where he will meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss bilateral ties and work to strengthen the relationship between the US and Cambodia, according to a statement from the Cambodian Foreign Affairs Ministry released on Saturday. Mr. Kerry will arrive in Phnom Penh and lead his delegation from January 25 to the 26th. “During the visit, Mr. Kerry will pay a courtesy call to Prime Minister Hun Sen and will hold official talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong,” the statement read. According to a US State Department press release issued on Friday, Mr. Kerry will meet with Cambodian leaders to discuss the upcoming US-ASEAN summit in Sunnylands, California before leaving for China. Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) spokesman Yim Sovann said that the opposition party is unsure if it will have a chance to meet with Mr. Kerry, although they remain optimistic. “We are hopeful that we will discuss with him [Mr. Kerry] the current situation of Cambodia – including political issues, human rights concerns and social-economic issues if he gives us a chance,” Mr. Sovann said. When asked about Mr. Kerry’s potential meeting with CNRP officials, ruling Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Sok Ey San told Khmer Times that in accordance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, the sole purpose of Mr. Kerry’s visit to the country will be to meet and discuss the upcoming US-ASEAN summit with senior government officials. “Following this issue, Samdech Hun Sen will lead a delegation to the White House, where ten ASEAN member countries are launching the summit,” Mr. Ey San said. “Thus, Samdech Hun Sen and his counterpart Mr. Kerry will discuss only the state to state framework during the visit to Cambodia.” -- Best Regards, *Khmer Forum* *A place for sharing community events and public news.* -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to camdisc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to camdisc-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to camdisc+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
