Diplomatic Correspondence between President Yasser Arafat and King Norodom Sihanouk regarding the Restoration of the Monarchy and Palestinian Sovereignty

D92481

Diplomatic Correspondence between President Yasser Arafat and King Norodom Sihanouk regarding the Restoration of the Monarchy and Palestinian Sovereignty

English and French

Tunisia / Cambodia

25 September 1993

DC-Cam, D92481, 24 August 2025, Julio/DC-Cam Archive

Julio/DC-Cam Archive, The Queen Mother Library, Phnom Penh

State and Diplomatic Correspondence, Tunis / Phnom Penh

Computer-Typing (tx), 1 pages

1. Palestinian Solidarity
2. Sihanouk’s Reciprocal Support
3. Recognition of Statehood
4. Decades of Alliance
5. Shared Goals

This exchange highlights the long-standing personal and political bond between two iconic leaders of 20th-century national liberation movements, which occurred just as both were reaching major milestones in their respective peace processes.

President Yasser Arafat and King Norodom Sihanouk exchanged letters that reinforced a decades-old alliance between the Palestinian leadership and the Cambodian monarchy. While Arafat celebrated the King’s restoration as a triumph of the Khmer people’s will, Sihanouk used the occasion to formally endorse the recent diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East, specifically recognizing the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. This correspondence serves as a testament to Sihanouk’s “non-aligned” foreign policy, maintaining a strong, “fraternal” connection with the Palestinian cause even as the Kingdom of Cambodia re-established full diplomatic ties with Western powers and the broader international community.

© DC-Cam