Thailand has commended Cambodia for moving to annul diplomatic passports held by foreign nationals after it emerged that former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was issued one when she fled the country in 2017.
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told the Bangkok Post newspaper on Tuesday that the decision “demonstrates the strong ties between Cambodia and Thailand.”
On January 9, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered that diplomatic passports issued to foreign nationals should be collected and reviewed.
The decision came after a Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, reported that Yingluck had used a Cambodian passport to register a company there.
The Bangkok Post reported that Don Pramudwinai said the decision to review the passport issuance process was a “clear, official indication” of the Cambodian government’s stance that shows “we care for each other’s feelings.”
Gen. Khieu Sopheak, an interior ministry spokesman, declined to comment on the issuance of Yingluck’s passport.
“It’s normal that Cambodia never wants to be the enemy of any country, especially the neighboring countries. We are very happy to strengthen and expand good cooperation with our neighbors. In general, it means that if we have neighbors living close to our homes and we have a bowl of soup to share, it shows we are loving and paying respect to each other as we always talk about peaceful friendship and cooperative borders,” he said.
