President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will make a state visit to Cambodia from September 7 to 9, Malacañang announced, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties ahead of his scheduled participation in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next month.
According to Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will release further details regarding the trip. This will be President Marcos’ second visit to Cambodia since assuming the presidency in 2022.
President Marcos first visited Cambodia in November 2022 to attend the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits in Phnom Penh. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reciprocated with an official visit to the Philippines in February this year, and the two leaders also held talks in March 2024 on the sidelines of the 50th ASEAN Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia.
The Philippines and Cambodia have shared formal diplomatic relations since August 20, 1957. The Philippine embassy in Phnom Penh, however, was closed in March 1975 amid the fall of the Lon Nol government to the Khmer Rouge. More than 7,000 Filipinos live and work in Cambodia, mostly in the skilled labor sector, according to DFA records.
Meanwhile, Castro confirmed President Marcos’ upcoming trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, though specific details remain pending. This will be his sixth visit to the United States since 2022. His most recent U.S. trip was in July, where he met with President Donald Trump during a three-day official visit.
President Marcos made his international debut at the UNGA high-level general debate in 2022, where he urged support for the Philippines’ bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council. He also highlighted the Philippines’ policy of being “a friend to all and an enemy to none,” while calling for stronger global cooperation on food security, technology access, and economic development.
The 80th session of the UNGA, themed “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” will run from September 23 to 27 and 29, with world leaders expected to deliver policy statements and outline positions on pressing global issues.
