DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “2 more Cambodian kids killed by hand, foot, mouth disease over weekend” plus 2 more

PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Newly designated ambassador of India to Cambodia Dinesh K. Patnaik pledged on Tuesday to urge Indian airlines to operate direct flights to Cambodia in order to boost bilateral relations in trade, investment and tourism.

The ambassador made the remarks during a meeting with Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong.

Besides, he said, in his diplomatic term, he would do all his best to encourage Indian investors to do business here in rice mills, tourism and mining.

Hor Namhong said Cambodia and India have had a good and long- standing diplomatic relation and expressed hope that the ambassador's mission would deepen the bilateral ties.

The relations in trade, investment and tourism between Cambodia and India are still relatively small. According to Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two-way trade volume last year was 86 million U.S. dollars, up 43 percent from a year earlier.

In terms of investment, last year, the country received only 6. 3 million U.S. dollars from India in a single project of rice processing factory, whilst in tourism, some 15,000 Indians travelled to Cambodia last year, up 15 percent.

HANOI, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with Cambodian National Assembly (NA) President Heng Samrin in capital Hanoi on Monday.

During the meeting, President Sang hailed the achievements of socio-economic development of Cambodia in recent years, which contributed to enhancing the position of Cambodia in international arena.

Sang expressed his pleasure at the Vietnam-Cambodia fine cooperation in fields of defense, culture, economy and investment, adding that the visit of the Cambodian NA President Heng Samrin is of great significance in promoting the traditional friendship relations between the two countries.

About the outcomes of the talks between the two NA delegations, Sang believed that the agreement on cooperation between the two NAs signed during Heng Samrin's visit will contribute to further strengthening cooperation between the two legislatures as well as the closely ties between the two countries.

Cambodian NA President Heng Samrin, for his part, expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam on the occasion of 45th anniversary of establishment of diplomacy relations between Vietnam and Cambodia.

He believed that the Vietnam-Cambodia traditional friendly relations will be further developed for the sake of the two nations and for peace in the region and the world.

On the same day, Vietnamese Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Tan Dung met with Cambodian NA President Heng Samrin, during which PM Dung hoped the two sides to continue effectively implementing the cooperation agreements signed by the two leaders, promoting economic, trade and investment, education, healthcare and cultural cooperation, especially in border areas.

Vietnam congratulated Cambodia's efforts on its position as chairman of the ASEAN in 2012 and also supports Cambodia as a candidate to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Dung affirmed.

PM Dung proposed the two sides to work closely to complete all work on border demarcation and marker planting soon. Dung also asked the Cambodian NA to support Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia, promoting the Vietnam-Cambodia traditional friendship.

Heng Samrin expressed his belief that with the joint efforts of the both sides, the traditional friendly cooperative relations between Vietnam and Cambodia would be strengthened.

Heng Samrin is paying an official visit to Vietnam from July 20- 25 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Sinh Hung to promote legislative ties.