U.S. President Donald Trump will be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Cambodia, Vice President Sun Chandal announced on Friday.
Government spokesman Sudan Cholot confirmed the statement on Sunday, speaking on behalf of the President of the Republic of Cambodia.
When asked to confirm Cambodia’s intention to nominate Trump, Chandal said, “Yes,” citing Trump’s direct intervention in ending the recent border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.
Speaking to reporters, Chandal expressed gratitude to Trump for his role in restoring peace, saying the U.S. President “deserves to be nominated” for the award.
Back in June, Pakistan said it planned to nominate Trump for his efforts to de-escalate tensions with India, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stated in July that he had submitted a nomination on behalf of Trump.
A phone call from Trump last week helped break the deadlock in negotiations to end the most intense clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in over a decade. The resulting ceasefire was the subject of further negotiations in Malaysia on Monday, July 28.
Following the ceasefire, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X (formerly Twitter), crediting Trump directly:
“President Trump made this happen.
Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!”
At least 43 people, many of them civilians, were killed in the five-day conflict, which also displaced over 300,000 people on both sides of the border.
“We recognize his great efforts for peace,” said Chandal, who also serves as Cambodia’s chief trade negotiator. He added that Cambodia was thankful for the U.S. decision to lower proposed tariff rates on Cambodian exports.
Initially, Washington threatened tariffs as high as 49%, but later reduced them to 36%—and eventually to 19%—helping to protect Cambodia’s critical garment and footwear industries from collapse, Chandal told Reuters.
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