Relationship Overview
Relations established
28 May 1952 (per Pakistan MOFA)
Sub-region
Mainland Southeast Asia
Pakistan was among the first states to recognise Cambodian independence; the relationship marked its 70th anniversary in 2022 and today centres on Pakistan's technical-assistance role in a still-small trade relationship.
Embassies: Pakistan's Embassy is in Phnom Penh (resident mission opened 2005); Cambodia is represented in Pakistan via its Embassy in India with an honorary consulate in Lahore.
Diplomatic Ties & High-Level Visits
Diplomatic relations were established 28 May 1952. Momentum improved markedly after Pakistan opened a resident mission in Phnom Penh in 2005 (previously Cambodia relations were handled on a non-resident basis). The relationship marked its 70th anniversary in 2022.
No verified high-level visit record available yet for this relationship.
Trade & Economic Relations
Trade figures vary by source between roughly $19-40 million, both well below potential; Cambodia has specifically asked Pakistan for additional student scholarships, while Pakistan has asked Cambodia to establish a resident presence in Islamabad — a two-way asymmetry worth noting for anyone assessing the relationship's real depth.
| Year | Trade volume | Source |
|---|
| recent (source A) | $19M | The Express Tribune, "Pakistan, Cambodia boost trade, diplomatic ties" |
| recent (source B) | $40M | Eurasia Review / Caribbean News Global, "70 Years of Pakistan-Cambodia Relations" |
Pakistan exports to Cambodia
- Pharmaceuticals
- Garments
- Leather products
Cambodia exports to Pakistan
Investment & market notes: No specific investment vehicle or figure was identified in current research.
Opportunities for Business, Education & Collaboration
Cambodia is the clearest case among smaller ASEAN partners where Pakistan is positioned as a technical-assistance provider rather than purely a trade counterpart -- a distinct kind of engagement for IPDS's Centre to document, including education demand running FROM Cambodia.
Business & Trade
- Pharmaceuticals, garments and leather products are Pakistan's existing export lines into Cambodia's market.
- Trade, tourism, education and defence were explicitly named by both governments as areas needing further strengthening.
Education
- Cambodia's government has formally requested that Pakistan grant additional scholarships to Cambodian students -- a live, government-level ask IPDS could track as a concrete deliverable to watch for.
Collaboration
- Pakistan's CLMV Assistance Program and Technical Assistance Programme (PTAP) provide electronic equipment and capacity-building courses (banking, postal services, railways, diplomacy) to Cambodia — Pakistan functions here as a technical-assistance donor, a distinct role from its trade-partner framing with Indonesia/Malaysia/Vietnam.
- Cambodia has asked Pakistan to consider Cambodia establishing a resident diplomatic presence in Islamabad, which would deepen the currently asymmetric mission structure (Pakistan resident in Phnom Penh since 2005; Cambodia represented via its Embassy in India).
Security, Culture & People-to-People Ties
Defence is named as an area for further strengthening alongside trade, tourism and education, without a specific institutionalised mechanism identified in current research (unlike Brunei's JWCDC).
Defense & security
- Defence cooperation named as an area both governments have agreed needs further strengthening, without a specific standing mechanism identified in current research.
Culture & people-to-people
- 70 years of diplomatic relations (1952-2022) was marked as a formal institutional milestone.
Sources & Methodology
This page is compiled from open-source, primarily official material (Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mission/embassy pages, and government-to-government meeting readouts), cross-checked against reputable news reporting and, where available, peer-reviewed academic research. Where sources gave differing figures for different years, both are kept rather than silently reconciled. Items are marked as an open gap where no verified information could be found, rather than estimated. This tracker is a living document, updated as new agreements, visits or data are published.
Disclaimer: This tracker presents open-source research compiled by the IPDS Centre for ASEAN Studies research desk. It does not represent an official position of the Government of Pakistan, and does not constitute an endorsement by IPDS of any state's position on unresolved disputes referenced herein.
