Opinion | Lessons from Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship for Laos’s 2024 ASEAN Chair
Along with a shared border, the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Lao PDR have a lengthy history. The two nations’ populations behave extremely similarly, and their economies are essentially in the same place. Given their cordial connections and other positive aspects of their shared lives, Cambodia and Laos have a lot to offer each other and might learn from one another.
While Cambodia successfully led ASEAN in 2022, Lao is currently the ASEAN chair. However, there are some lessons that Cambodia, as the previous chair, may impart to Laos in order to help it leads ASEAN.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingWhile serving as chairman, Cambodia prioritized a number of important goals, including advancing sustainable development, bolstering cybersecurity, boosting economic integration, and preserving peace and security in the region. The example of Cambodia offers important insights into the chances and difficulties Laos may face in its prospective presidency.
The year 2022 saw Cambodia become the Chairman of ASEAN, which was a major accomplishment for both the nation and the region. In its capacity as Chair, Cambodia assumed the duty of spearheading and directing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the direction of accomplishing its objectives and fostering regional collaboration.
Strengthening ASEAN’s position as a cohesive and powerful voice in the world community and increasing its prominence in regional affairs were two of the main goals of Cambodia’s chairmanship. Cambodia concentrated on encouraging increased cooperation among ASEAN members, encouraging communication and consensus-building, and developing regional initiatives in order to achieve this.
Laos should take a lesson from Cambodia: managing a tiny nation among large nations is not an easy task, and it becomes even more challenging when those powerful nations bring issues that the smaller nations must deal with. It is quite simple to argue that Laos should balance its foreign policy among the great nations, but putting it into practice will be difficult since some powerful nations and their allies would pressure smaller nations to address major problems that they are unable to handle.
The lessons learned from Cambodia’s presidency will be especially helpful for Laos as ASEAN chair, which it now assumed the position in 2024. Laos can learn from Cambodia’s experiences and difficulties during its chairmanship, how to manage its own term with greater effectiveness.
The necessity of retaining a balanced approach is one of the most important lessons learned from Cambodia’s chairmanship. It is imperative that the ASEAN chair advance regional objectives while also representing the interests of all member nations. During its leadership, Cambodia came under fire for supposedly supporting the interests of specific nations, which strained ties within the organization. Laos needs to put inclusivity first and make sure that choices are made with the interests of the ASEAN community as a whole in mind if it hopes to avoid making the same mistakes.
An additional insight gained from Cambodia’s leadership is the necessity of efficient cooperation and communication. The foundational tenet of ASEAN is consensus-building, necessitating considerable communication and collaboration among its member nations. Effective communication of Cambodia’s aims and actions to the rest of ASEAN was impeded, resulting in miscommunication and delays in decision-making. To ensure seamless coordination during its presidency, Laos might take a cue from this and concentrate on strengthening channels of communication, promoting transparency, and actively engaging with all member states.
In order to steer the ASEAN member nations toward accomplishing shared objectives and tackling regional difficulties, leadership is essential. The chair is in charge of assisting the varied collection of member states in reaching consensus and making decisions. To direct talks, resolve disputes, and promote cooperation among the ASEAN nations, strong leadership is required.
Determining the urgent regional issues that need to be addressed during Laos’s chairmanship is crucial. This could entail tackling issues with member state economic inequities, encouraging equitable growth, and coming up with long-term solutions for environmental issues. By taking the initiative to address these problems, Laos can support the growth and prosperity of ASEAN as a whole.
In order to successfully handle regional objectives, Laos must also establish solid partnerships with other ASEAN members and other parties. This entails making diplomatic efforts, encouraging communication, and trying to reach an agreement on important matters. Laos can more effectively handle regional concerns by using pooled expertise and resources via the establishment of strong alliances.
A crucial takeaway for Laos is the significance of cultivating an inclusive and cooperative culture within the ASEAN community. The importance of including all member nations in decision-making procedures and making sure their perspectives are heard was made clear during Cambodia’s chairmanship. Laos should take a cue from this strategy and work to establish a forum where all members actively engage in forming ASEAN’s response to international issues.
In order to guarantee a prosperous and influential ASEAN chairmanship, Laos has to concentrate on fortifying regional alliances and cultivating a feeling of solidarity among constituent nations.
Participating actively in ASEAN meetings, initiatives, and events can help achieve this. Laos may make certain that its interests and concerns are properly handled by actively participating in talks and decision-making processes.
Initiatives and programs in the region that support resilience, inclusion, and sustainable development should continue to be led by Laos. This covers initiatives to improve digitalization and connectivity as well as attempts to handle issues like disaster preparedness and climate change. Laos may make a significant and long-lasting contribution to the advancement of the region by adopting a proactive stance.
In conclusion, Laos can learn a lot from Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship experience after taking over the position in 2024. Laos can ensure a successful and impactful ASEAN chairmanship that benefits all member states and advances the collective interests of the region by prioritizing regional integration, building unity, supporting effective communication, and leading sustainable projects.
Dr. Seun Sam /
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Dr. Seun Sam is an international researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia.
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