Cambodia and U.S. Lawmakers Pledge to Deepen Trade, Technology, and Cultural Ties

WASHINGTON, U.S. (Nov.07, 2025) — Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol met with U.S. Representatives Beth Van Duyne and Richard McCormick on Wednesday to strengthen bilateral ties and promote investment opportunities, presenting each lawmaker with a traditional Khmer garment as a cultural token of appreciation.

The meeting followed discussions with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and included a Cambodian delegation comprising officials from the Council for the Development of Cambodia, the ministries of tourism, industry, science, and innovation, as well as Cambodia’s ambassador to the United States and Mexico.

Van Duyne, who represents Texas’s 24th Congressional District and serves on the House Committees on Rules and Small Business, and McCormick, who represents Georgia’s 7th District, engaged in talks focused on expanding trade, reducing barriers, and encouraging U.S. investment in Cambodia’s technology and industrial sectors.

During the meeting, Chanthol highlighted two major developments: the recent Cambodia-Thailand peace agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur, witnessed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and the signing of a reciprocal trade agreement between Cambodia and the United States.

To commemorate the occasion, Chanthol presented Van Duyne and McCormick with traditional Khmer “Hol” silk skirts, handwoven from natural-dyed silk and representing Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage. He described the gifts as symbols of friendship and a gesture to deepen ties between the two nations.

Van Duyne previously led a congressional delegation to Cambodia in August, where she met with Prime Minister Hun Manet and praised the country’s economic growth and macroeconomic stability. The delegation also visited relocation centers in Preah Vihear province to observe the living conditions of displaced Cambodian citizens.