Cambodia joined the US-Russia Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism along with Armenia, Macedonia and Romania, according to a May 3 statement from the US State Department—though Cambodian officials said they were unaware of the news.
US Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle wrote in an email May 4 that Cambodia signed on to the initiative on April 4.
“Cambodia will participate in activities to develop national and international capacity to combat nuclear terrorism,” Daigle wrote.
However, the actual areas that Cambodia will need to develop in order to combat nuclear terrorism “are yet to be determined,” he wrote
A diplomat with the Russian Embassy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Cambodia will be welcomed into the initiative at a June meeting in Kazakhstan, but did not know the details of Cambodia’s role.
Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said that he was unaware of the initiative, but added that although terrorism is a concern for every country, nuclear terrorism was not a top priority in Cambodia.
“In Cambodia it is not on the top list of concerns,” he said.
National Counterterrorism Committee members Sao Sokha, commander of the National Military Police, Em Sam An, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, and Mol Roeup, director of military intelligence, all said that they were unaware of the initiative.
