Australia to send Cambodia 3 million vaccine doses as Marise Payne makes Southeast Asia tour
- The foreign minister spoke with Hun Sen on trade and Australian assistance to Cambodia, as she made her second stop in a four-nation trip
- The tour comes amid concern by some Asean members over Australia’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines under its Aukus pact with the UK and US
Australia’s foreign minister on Monday met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on issues including the Covid-19 pandemic during the second stop of her four-nation Southeast Asian tour.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne exchanged views with her host on trade and Australia’s provision of assistance to Cambodia in the education, health, agriculture and defence sectors, said Eang Sophalleth, a spokesman for the Cambodian premier.
Australia in February announced a separate grant of US$28 million for Cambodia to purchase 3 million doses.
Cambodia has vaccinated 87 per cent of its more than 16 million people, one of Asia’s highest inoculation rates.
The country has already given 2 million booster shots and begun inoculating children.
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Payne, who also serves as Australia’s Minister for Women, paid a visit to a shelter for women survivors of violence in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh that receives support from the Australian government.
Cambodia last month assumed the Asean chair, which rotates annually among the regional bloc’s 10 members.
Hun Sen’s spokesman said Payne briefed the prime minister on the agreement, and he thanked her for the explanation. Cambodia is a close ally of China, which has criticised the pact.
Payne, who arrived from Malaysia, next visits Vietnam and then concludes her tour in Indonesia, the region’s biggest country.