Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin Ill’s Meetings With Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senior Cambodian Officials

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia today, where he met separately with Prime Minister Hun Manet, Minister of National Defence Tea Seiha, and President of the Senate Hun Sen. He also engaged with Cambodian alumni of U.S. professional military education (PME) programs, as well as cadets from the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy visiting Cambodia for educational opportunities.

In their meetings, the officials discussed opportunities to strengthen the U.S.-Cambodia bilateral defense relationship in support of regional peace and security, including through the resumption of military training exchanges on disaster assistance and United Nations Peacekeeping, training and exchanges on de-mining and unexploded ordnance clearance, and Cambodia’s access to U.S. PME programs. They also welcomed continued discussions about these issues between their respective defense establishments.

Secretary Austin’s second trip to Cambodia as Secretary of Defense follows his November 2022 trip there for the 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Siem Reap.

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