Cambodia will nominate US president Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, its deputy prime minister said on Friday, following his direct intervention in halting the Southeast Asian country’s recent border conflict with Thailand.
Asked via text message to confirm Cambodia’s plan to nominate Mr Trump for the prize, Sun Chanthol responded, “yes”.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the capital, Phnom Penh, Mr Chanthol thanked Mr Trump for bringing peace and said he deserved to be nominated for the prize, the highest-profile international award given to an individual or organisation deemed to have done the most to “advance fellowship between nations”.
Pakistan said in June that it would recommend Mr Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping to resolve a conflict with India, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month he had nominated Trump for the award.
It was a call by Mr 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 Mr Chanthol, also Cambodia’s top trade negotiator, adding that his country was also grateful for a reduced tariff rate of 19 per cent.
Washington had initially threatened a tariff of 49 per cent, later reducing it to 36 per cent, a level that would have decimated Cambodia’s vital garment and footwear sector, Mr Chanthol told Reuters in an interview earlier on Friday.
