Prime Minister Hun Sen received a lifetime achievement award on Saturday during the 13th Asean Leadership Forum in Vientiane, Laos, hosted by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, a Malaysia-based think tank.
Mr. Hun Sen, the longest-serving leader in the region, was the fourth recipient of the award, according to state news agency AKP, which listed previous awardees as former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Nazrin Shah, sultan of the Malaysian state of Perak.
The criteria for the award are vague; however, Mr. Kuan Yew and Mr. Mahathir are also the longest-serving leaders in their countries.
Mr. Hun Sen used his acceptance speech to praise his time in power and call for continued Asean unity.
“I hope our Asean will not face the situation of Europe, where England recently moved out,” he said, referring to a vote by U.K. citizens to leave the E.U. Cambodia has come under increasing scrutiny within Asean recently for blocking regional unity over territorial disputes with China.
