‘Small or Powerful, Every Nation Is Sovereign’: Hun Sen Recalls 1979 Diplomatic Lesson
‘Small or Powerful, Every Nation Is Sovereign’: Hun Sen Recalls 1979 Diplomatic Lesson
PHNOM PENH, October 9, 2026 — Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has recalled his first diplomatic meeting with former Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in 1979, describing the encounter as a defining moment that shaped his longstanding political philosophy of “equality and equal rights” in international relations.
In a social media post, Hun Sen shared a photograph from the historic meeting, which took place when he was just 27 years old and Cambodia was emerging from the devastation of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Gromyko, born in 1909, was 70 at the time. The meeting brought together a veteran diplomat representing a major world power and a young Cambodian leader representing a small country struggling to recover from years of genocide and destruction.
Hun Sen recalled feeling deeply anxious before the meeting because of his youth and limited diplomatic experience. Gromyko, by contrast, had decades of experience in international affairs, including serving as the Soviet ambassador to the United States from 1943 to 1946 during World War II.
However, Hun Sen said his confidence returned when he noticed the Cambodian national flag flying alongside the Soviet flag on the vehicle transporting him to the meeting.
The sight prompted him to reflect that, despite the differences in age, wealth and national power, both men represented sovereign states. Cambodia might have been smaller and poorer, but its sovereignty entitled it to equal standing in diplomatic relations.
“Equality and equal rights” subsequently became a guiding principle in Hun Sen’s political outlook, according to his recollection.
The former meeting, he said, reinforced the importance of national sovereignty and equality among states—principles that continue to underpin Cambodia’s approach to engaging with the international community.
His account highlights a central principle of international relations: differences in a country’s size, economic strength or military power do not diminish its sovereign status or its right to be treated with respect.
The 1979 encounter remains a significant personal diplomatic memory for Hun Sen, reflecting his emphasis on equality and mutual respect in relations between countries, regardless of their relative power.
