- Cristina Elisa Aguilar Jiménez, Chargée D’Affaires a.i. Embassy of Spain to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar,
- Samdech, Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen!
Today, I am very pleased to join Samdech, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen to receive a generous donation of 300,000 (three hundred thousand) doses of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine for children from the People and Government of the Kingdom of Spain to the People and Government of Cambodia, through Ms. Cristina Elisa Aguilar Jiménez, Chargée D’Affaires a.i. Embassy of Spain to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
Due to the right and firm decision of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to organize the national vaccination campaign for the whole country, especially children who are the future of our nation, Cambodia can be considered as one of the leading countries in managing COVID-19. As a result, although new waves of COVID-19 continue to emerge, Cambodia has been able to reopen the country in all areas, maintain normal socio-economic activities, as well as recover and boost strong economic growth since November 2021 until now. These achievements were due to vaccination, which has helped build strong defenses, cut off infections and, especially, prevent serious illnesses and deaths. As a matter of fact, there has been no death in Cambodia in the last four months since April 2022.
Being said that, COVID-19 has not gone far from us yet. Hence, Cambodia, as well as the whole world, must continue to pay attention and make efforts to manage COVID-19 in a proactive and vigilant manner, especially in continuing and accelerating booster shot vaccination to all citizens and children aged 3 and above, which will continue to play a core role in providing a strong and most effective protection against new and relentless mutations of COVID-19. Taking this opportunity, on behalf of the people and the RGC, I would like to express my gratitude to the People and Government of the Kingdom of Spain and other member states of the European Union for their continued contribution in the fight against COVID-19, as well as the socio-economic recovery in Cambodia, through the donations of vaccines, especially for children, and a series of technical assistance.
- Samdech, Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen!
As COVID-19 has subsided but not yet ended, the whole world is also facing many other alarming challenges that can disrupt the momentum of the global socio-economic recovery. In particular, rising fuel prices have led to high inflation everywhere, especially the United States and the European Union, which have forced the central banks to raise interest rates to curb the rise in inflation but could lead to a decline in global demand. Moreover, high inflation has also been putting increasing pressure on the daily lives of our people.
In these difficult and unpredictable circumstances, we need cooperation and mutual assistance than ever before. In this spirit, I would like to encourage the prioritization of the welfare of the people and public health, strict adherence to the spirit of mutual assistance, and strengthening of cooperation in all fields. As the Chair of ASEAN in 2022, Cambodia will strive to strengthen cooperation within the ASEAN region, as well as between ASEAN-European Union and ASEAN-Spain.
Finally, I would like to continue to call on all Cambodian people to continue to strictly implement the “3-Dos and 3-Don’ts” measure and get the booster doses. I would like to wish Samdech, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, the people of Cambodia, and the people and governments of the Kingdom of Spain and the European Union successes in all their endeavors.
Thank you!
