In early November, Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto paid a visit to Cambodia to reopen the country’s embassy in Phnom Penh, which had been closed for decades.
For Cambodia’s authoritarian government, who in August saw trade privileges partially cut by the EU in response to the erosion of democracy in Phnom Penh since 2017, Szijjarto’s visit signalled something more important: it had found a new ally within the EU.
Cambodia’s foreign minister Prak Sokhonn put it: “Hungary’s position on the removal of [trade privileges] is another example of a friend who understands the situation in Cambodia and is brave enough to support Cambodia for justice towards a democratic democracy.”
