In order to forge better diplomatic ties between Cambodia’s Parliament and its foreign counterparts, the Senate Wednesday formed “friendship groups” with the parliaments of a number of nations, several of them world superpowers.
The Senate elected five of its members to lead groups that will work with counterparts in Australia, Canada, China, Japan and the Asean nations.
Similar groups were also formed recently with France and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Asian Inter-Parliamentary Union, Francophonie and the International Conference.
Ty Borasy, chairman of the Senate’s foreign affairs and information commission, facilitated Wednesday’s election of group leaders. She said the groups are “important to better strengthen diplomatic ties with foreign parliaments, because Cambodia can seek foreign assistance for the improvement of the Senate and the nation as a whole.”
She added that the formation of these groups may also bring assistance to Cambodia’s flood victims, an area where foreign parliamentarians “love to help out.”
CPP Senator Pov Savath, who spent 21 years working in the federal government of Australia and served as deputy manager of Australia’s Commonwealth Employment Service, was elected to lead the Cambodia-Australia Friendship Group, but only after threatening to walk out on the vote.
He applied early for candidacy in the election, but appeared infuriated Wednesday to discover his name was not on the candidate list.
Dissatisfied with the last-minute addition of his name, he began to walk out of the Senate in protest, but was persuaded to run in the election, which he went on to win.
Pov Savath said he has good relationships with politicians in all three of Australia’s major political parties
