Malaysia-Cambodia Relations Hit High Pitch in 2025, Year of Major Diplomatic Triumph
By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Cambodia-Malaysia relations reached a crescendo this year, after nearly seventy years of vibrant diplomacy that has transcended well beyond typical trade and diplomatic boundaries.
The year 2025 will go down in the annals of the two countries as the most momentous period, as it touched the pulse of both nations’ commitment towards building regional peace and security.
Putrajaya’s core foreign policy of non-alignment and middle power diplomacy has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in strengthening ties with Cambodia, a fellow ASEAN member state.
Malaysia’s steadfast efforts, as ASEAN chair, to bring peace to Cambodia, following a border dispute that soured its relations with neighbouring Thailand, emerged as a strategic cornerstone in bilateral ties.
Malaysian top military officials, leading the Interim Observer Team and the ASEAN Observer Team, to monitor peace along the sensitive borders in northern Cambodia, further signify regional acceptance of Malaysia as a neutral peacemaker.
The border conflict transformed Cambodia-Malaysian ties from routine engagement in the first half of 2025 into a more dynamic and mature relationship in the following months, according to diplomatic circles in the capital.
Cambodia's signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord at the ASEAN Summit with Thailand in October, under the supervision of Putrajaya and the United States, was a historic milestone in regional diplomacy that also reinvigorated relations between the nations.
The second half of the year witnessed a dramatic change in bilateral cooperation and people-to-people engagement.
An influx of Malaysia-made fast-moving consumer goods into the local market, rising medical tourists to Malaysian private hospitals, a spike in two-way tourism and a deeper confidence level among the business community reflected a more positive and evolving landscape of cooperation.
As Phnom Penh-based Malaysian Business Chamber of Commerce President Tan Khee Meng summed it up: “Well, 2025 was a bit difficult year, but 2026 will be the year for us to grow.”
It was an eventful year with the arrival of top Malaysian dignitaries. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, during his October visit, expressed diplomatic confidence.
“The visit underscores both nations’ shared commitment to deepening bilateral relations and strengthening ASEAN unity at a crucial time for regional peace and stability,” he said.
Visits by senior Malaysian officials added deeper momentum to cooperation between the nations. Among them is Dewan Rakyat Speaker Dr Johari Abdul's visits to Cambodia, in January and March, which strengthened and expanded bilateral relations, particularly in parliamentary, economic, and social cooperation.
Diplomatic interactions expanded further. Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu’s arrival in February guaranteed the Kingdom’s continued supply of its rice to Malaysia, while Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman’s visit in February intensified legal cooperation.
Malaysia-Cambodia multifaceted relations peaked this year, as diplomats and business leaders describe, an engagement that started in 1957 after Malaysia established its diplomatic relations.
With two-way trade reaching nearly RM3.9 billion (US$961million) in the first 10 months of the year, trade officials from both sides are confident it will breach the RM4 billion (US$1 billion) mark this year.
Tourist arrivals are rosy too, with about 100,000 Malaysian tourists setting foot on Cambodian soil this year.
In sports, Malaysian junior tennis player Daania Daniella Hazli emerged as a quiet ambassador of soft power after winning three Under-18 J30 Phnom Penh titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour in late November.
“It is her most important performance, despite carrying some injuries before the games. She did it here,” Dannia’s jubilant father and coach, Abdul Hazli Zainuddin, told Bernama.
-- BERNAMA
