Cambodia has announced its intention to nominate United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to its deputy prime minister, who made the statement on Friday.
The Southeast Asian country’s Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol confirmed the plan to nominate Trump for the prize via text message, simply responding: “Yes.”
This follows the US president’s direct intervention in resolving the recent border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
Earlier today, while speaking to reporters in the capital, Phnom Penh, Chanthol publicly thanked Trump for his efforts in bringing peace to the region, asserting that he deserved to be nominated for the prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the highest-profile international award given to an individual or organisation deemed to have done the most to “advance fellowship between nations”.
Pakistan announced in June that it would recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in helping to resolve the conflict with India, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last month that he had nominated Trump for the award.
It was a call by Trump last week that broke a deadlock in efforts to end the heaviest fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in over a decade, leading to a ceasefire negotiated in Malaysia on Monday, Reuters has reported.
Following the truce announcement, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that Trump made it happen.
“Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!” she said.
At least 43 people have been killed in the intense clashes, which lasted five days and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border.
“We acknowledge his great efforts for peace,” said Chanthol, also Cambodia’s top trade negotiator, adding that his country was also grateful for a reduced tariff rate of 19%.
Washington had initially threatened a tariff of 49%, later reducing it to 36%, a level that would have decimated Cambodia’s vital garment and footwear sector, Chanthol told Reuters in an interview earlier on Friday.
