Phnom Penh – On 7 November 2023, Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia, H.E. Maria Amelita C. Aquino welcomed the second batch of youth delegates from the Young SEAkers Cambodia composed of thirty-five Cambodian students from various schools and universities for a town hall meeting. 

Shortly before the town hall meeting, the participants were given a brief tour of the Embassy’s grounds, the Sentro Rizal room and the Consular area.

At the Embassy’s Multi-Purpose Hall, Ms. Soukhon Malika of the Young SEAKers Cambodia Chapter, delivered a short introduction on YoungSEAkers, emphasizing its aim of organizing town hall meetings to serve as platform for the youth to engage with the Ambassadors of ASEAN countries.

Ambassador Aquino welcomed the group and gave a presentation on the Philippines and the various aspects of Philippines-Cambodia relations, including people-to-people ties. This was followed by an engaging Q&A that focused on some aspects of Philippine foreign relations, including regional/multilateral cooperation, enhancing people-to-people connectivity and on the Ambassador’s experiences and challenges as a diplomat. 

The visit concluded with the students given a taste of the Philippines with the serving of Filipino snacks of pancit bihon (stir-fry noodles) and turon (fried banana spring roll). END