On 20 June 2022, H.E. Mr. SOK Soken, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Alternate Mekong SOM Leader for Cambodia, co-chaired the Mekong-Japan Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting with H.E. Mr. ISHIZUKI Hideo, Deputy Assistant Minister and Mekong SOM Leader for Japan, in a hybrid format in Phnom Penh. The Meeting was attended by SOM Leaders from other Mekong countries, namely Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The Mekong-Japan Senior Officials reviewed the progress of the Mekong-Japan cooperation in various priority areas and set out the future direction of this cooperation for promoting sustainable development, enhancing social, economic and cultural interconnections among the Mekong countries and Japan, and realizing a more vibrant Mekong sub-region. The Meeting also discussed the preparation for the upcoming 15th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held in August 2022 in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.

In the same afternoon, H.E. Mr. SOK Soken also had bilateral meetings with Mekong SOM Leader for Japan as well as Mekong SOM Leader for Thailand, both of which discussed their shared communal sights on regional issues of interests and concerns.