Hun Sen Sick, Cancels High-Level Meetings in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Hun Sen canceled high-level meetings with officials in Bangladesh on Tuesday morning due to illness, though he recovered in time to sign a number of agreements before returning home today, local media reported.

The news came just more than a week after rumors spread that Mr. Hun Sen had suffered a stroke. The speculation was quickly put to bed by the prime minister, who left for Bangladesh on Monday in apparently good health.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M Shahriar Alam told reporters at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital, Dhaka, where the high-level Cambodian delegation is staying, that Mr. Hun Sen had been feeling unwell and canceled morning meetings.

“Hun [Sen] has been feeling illness since…Monday night though he is not in a serious condition,” Mr. Alam was quoted as saying by Banglanews 24. “Due to illness, Hun [Sen’s] meetings with me and the Commerce Minister [Tofail Ahmed] have been canceled.”

A meeting between Mr. Hun Sen with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went ahead in the afternoon, followed by bilateral talks and a signing ceremony for agreements on trade, investment and culture and an MoU on agricultural cooperation.

Eang Sophalleth, Mr. Hun Sen’s personal assistant, said he was unaware of the reports of the prime minister’s sickness and referred questions to Mr. Hun Sen’s cabinet.

Deputy cabinet chief Nget Borey said he himself was unwell and had no news on the health of Mr. Hun Sen. “I am sick and am now in hospital undergoing medical treatment,” he said.

Even Mr. Hun Sen’s personal doctor, Heng Taykry, who is also a secretary of state at the Ministry of Health, said he was ill.

“Yes, even his personal doctor is also sick,” Mr. Taykry said. “But even if I knew about his health, I would not tell you because I am a government official—how could I tell a newspaper if the prime minster had become sick?”

pheap@cambodiadaily.com, henderson@cambodiadaily.com

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