Phnom Penh: Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. Aleks Zittle led an embassy delegation to Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey Provinces September 8–11 to review how U.S. assistance is bolstering health security, supporting communities recovering from the border conflict, and strengthening the U.S.-Cambodia relationship.
Supporting Peace and Border Conflict Recovery
Supporting the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords—which President Trump brokered in October 2025—remains a top U.S. priority to advance regional stability. During a visit to Banteay Meanchey, Chargé d’Affaires Aleks Zittle joined Agriculture Minister Dith Tina and Banteay Meanchey Governor Oum Reatrey to observe U.S.-funded programs implemented by World Vision and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
To see how U.S. assistance delivers critical care, Chargé Zittle toured a World Vision health post providing essential services for pregnant women, mothers, and newborns displaced by the border conflict. Charged Zittle also visited two IOM-implemented initiatives: a shelter and livelihood program that has benefited over 10,000 war-affected, displaced residents, and a trade skills certification project that has opened new career paths for 1,591 Cambodians, including returning migrants. Together, these programs demonstrate the tangible benefits of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, helping local communities recover and laying the groundwork for enduring peace, prosperity, and stability across the region.
While in Banteay Meanchey, Chargé Zittle also met with the ASEAN Observer Team to discuss their work verifying ceasefire compliance along the Cambodia-Thailand border, which has been vital to sustaining the peace secured under the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.
Strengthening Health Security
While in Siem Reap, Chargé Zittle also visited the Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital to see how U.S. government assistance is strengthening Cambodia’s frontline capacity to detect, report, and respond to infectious disease threats before they can reach American shores. To date, U.S. assistance has helped Cambodia meet global HIV targets, sharply reduce TB prevalence, and nearly eliminate local malaria transmission ahead of its 2030 goal. The visit underscored the strength of U.S.-Cambodia health cooperation under President Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy and the $36.1 million bilateral health MOU signed in April 2026, which is advancing shared global health goals and building a resilient and durable health system that will protect the well-being of the American and Cambodian people.
Advancing Demining to Address Past Conflicts
Building on decades of cooperation to address landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Cambodia, Chargé Zittle visited U.S.-funded demining operations implemented by the HALO Trust and APOPO. Since 1993, the United States has provided over $235 million in demining support to Cambodia, including $52 million to the HALO Trust, which has cleared the equivalent of 100,000 football pitches for agriculture and economic initiatives. Furthering these efforts, Chargé Zittle announced a new $3 million, three-year U.S. project to APOPO to clear landmines and UXO in Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, and Mondulkiri Provinces. In the announcement, Chargé Zittle said, “The United States will work alongside Cambodia to remove these deadly hazards and return land to communities where it can once again support homes, agriculture, and economic opportunity.”
This visit illustrated the depth and impact of U.S. engagement across Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey Provinces. Through targeted assistance for local communities in advancing peace, health security, and demining, the United States is helping to support regional stability and a more prosperous future for the United States and Cambodia.
Photo by: Supplied
