Cambodia eyes joint energy future with Thailand

Pirapan – the energy minister and leader of the United Thai Nation Party in the incumbent coalition government – expressed potential interest in leading the committee and called for the separation of energy matters from the sea border negotiation process. He emphasised the participation of the private sector, which has a keen interest in energy, in the negotiations, as reported by Thai media.

“The foreign ministry is not involved in energy matters,” he explained, adding that the negotiations would face significant challenges if energy and territorial matters were intertwined.

The development rights to the OCA, spanning the Gulf of Thailand and overlapping the Cambodian and Thai borders, have long been a contentious issue between the two kingdoms. Both nations have asserted their claims over this area since the early 1970s.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in…