Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will not join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit this week in Bangkok after testing positive for Covid-19 in Bali yesterday.
Asia's longest-ruling leader said in a Facebook post yesterday that he received the positive result upon arriving in Indonesia for the G20 summit, though he was not experiencing any symptoms.
Hun Sen had maskless encounters with leaders from eight Southeast Asian countries as well as the United States, China, Japan, Australia, and Canada at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, which wrapped up on Sunday.
"Beloved compatriots! Now I have tested positive for Covid-19," he wrote on Facebook, saying he had been tested every day including before flying to the G20 summit in Bali, and all the results had been negative.
"I am not sure when this virus came to me, but when I arrived, the Indonesians took a sample from me in the evening, and in the morning it confirmed Covid-19 positive."
He said it was "lucky" that he arrived in Bali late and missed a dinner with other leaders.
For safety reasons, the Cambodian delegation returned home yesterday, he said.
As a result, he will miss meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Apec summit in Bangkok later this week.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the current chair of Asean, is among the special invitees from three non-Apec economies, the other two being Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha acknowledged the news yesterday, saying no one wants to get sick. He said he already took a Covid-19 test yesterday and the result was negative.
When asked if the Cambodian prime minister would send a replacement, Gen Prayut said no representative would take his place at the summit.