PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s prime minister said he nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, crediting the US president with “visionary and innovative diplomacy” that ended border clashes with Thailand.
Five days of hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand killed at least 43 people last month as a territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border combat.
A truce began last week after phone calls from Trump, as well as mediation from Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – chair of the Asean regional bloc – and a delegation of Chinese negotiators.
A letter from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee said he wished to nominate Trump “in recognition of his historic contributions in advancing world peace.”
“President Trump’s extraordinary statesmanship – marked by his commitment to resolving conflicts and preventing catastrophic wars through visionary and innovative diplomacy – was most recently demonstrated by his decisive role in brokering an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand,” the letter said.
“This timely intervention, which averted a potentially devastating conflict, was vital in preventing great loss of lives and paved the pay towards the restoration of peace.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not publish the list of nominees for the prize.
However, a list of candidates is set by Jan 31 and the announcement is generally made the following October.
Tens of thousands of people can offer a nomination to the Nobel committee, including lawmakers, ministers, certain university professors, former laureates and members of the committee themselves.
Mentioning the prestigious award has become a sign of diplomatic goodwill for some foreign leaders towards Trump, who has touted his deal-making credentials as a broker of global peace.
Trump has already been nominated for the prize by Pakistan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Cambodia and Thailand were both facing eye-watering US tariffs on their exports when Trump intervened in the conflict, the deadliest to consume their border region in more than a decade.
They secured reduced levies of 19 per cent last week, avoiding the high 36 per cent rate he had threatened both with. – AFP
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