AKP Phnom Penh, May 26, 2026 -- Samdech Maha Rathsapheathika Thipadei Khuon Sudary, President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, received here on May 26 a courtesy call from delegates attending the AIPA-Cambodia National Parliamentary Conference on Climate Governance.

The delegation included Honourable Eddy Soeparno, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia; Honourable Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon, Vice Chairperson of the Special Committee on ASEAN Affairs, Sustainable Development Goals, and Economic Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Philippines; representatives from AIPA Member Parliaments, the AIPA Secretariat, development partners, and climate experts.

Welcoming the distinguished delegates, Samdech expressed pleasure in hosting the conference and emphasised the importance of strengthening friendship, solidarity, and parliamentary cooperation within the ASEAN family.

“Beyond substantive discussions, gatherings like this also strengthen the friendship and solidarity within our ASEAN family. Personal friendship really matters in building a stronger ASEAN Community together,” she said.

Samdech highlighted that the conference came at a timely moment, providing parliamentarians, policymakers, experts, and development partners with a valuable platform to exchange views, share experiences, and explore practical approaches to strengthening climate governance across the region.

Recognising Southeast Asia’s growing vulnerability to climate change, including rising temperatures, floods, droughts, and extreme weather events, Samdech stressed the need for collective action to address challenges affecting people across the region.

Samdech further emphasised the important role of parliaments in responding to climate challenges through legislation, budget approval, oversight, transparency, and people-centred policymaking, particularly to protect vulnerable communities.

Samdech also reaffirmed Cambodia’s strong commitment to working closely with regional and international partners to advance responsible, inclusive, and practical climate action through multi-stakeholder cooperation.

During the courtesy call, Honourable Eddy Soeparno conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from the leadership of Indonesia and expressed appreciation for Cambodia’s hospitality. He also praised Cambodia’s remarkable progress and development.

He underscored the urgency of addressing what he described as the “climate crisis,” calling on ASEAN member states to strengthen cooperation, shared responsibility, and collective action in responding to growing environmental challenges affecting societies and economies across the region.

In response, Samdech Khuon Sudary expressed appreciation for the reflections shared by the Indonesian delegation and reaffirmed the importance of collective responsibility in addressing climate-related challenges.

Samdech stressed that governments alone cannot effectively respond to climate change and highlighted the need for closer collaboration among governments, parliamentarians, the private sector, development partners, civil society, and local communities.

Samdech also laid stress on the importance of strengthening resilience against climate-related risks and noted that the conference provided an important platform for ASEAN parliamentarians to exchange experiences, strengthen cooperation, and seek practical solutions to common challenges.

“Our goal is to stay on the right path toward a sustainable and resilient future,” Samdech underlined.

The courtesy call concluded in a warm and cordial atmosphere, during which Samdech extended best regards to the leaders of the participating delegations.

By Chea Vannak