UK Minister of State visits Cambodia to discuss societal and government talks

Today (August 22), Mark Field, the UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, and MP for the cities of London and Westminster, is visiting Cambodia for meetings with its government and members of civil society and the private sector.

During calls with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Education Minister, Field is set to discuss the recent national election and bilateral ties between the UK and Cambodia.

Speaking before his visit, he stated: “I have made clear the UK’s view that the Cambodian national elections were neither fair nor credible.

“I will hold frank discussions with the Cambodian Prime Minister to urge the government to lift restrictions on political debate and media freedom, and restore the conditions for a proper, functioning democracy.”

The Minister will also visit the Halo Trust Cambodia HQ in Siem Reap to meet the Cambodian de-mining teams. With UK funding, they have released over 70 sq km of land in the past three years - said to benefit more than 185,000 local residents.

Mr Field’s visit to Cambodia is part of a six-country tour of South East Asia that also includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Thailand and Laos.