Cambodian PM meets with Russian counterpart during ASEAN Summit

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met for the first time with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on Thursday, and both leaders vowed to enhance bilateral ties and cooperation, a Cambodian senior official said.

"The relations between Cambodia and Russia have not been fully strengthened, so the two leaders agreed to exchange official visits in the near future to enhance bilateral ties," Kao Kim Hourn, minister attached to Hun Sen, told a press conference while returning from Myanmar with Hun Sen.

"Both sides also agreed to speed up the settlement of debt that Cambodia has owed Russia since 1979," he said.

The two prime ministers also agreed to prepare some agreements related to investment promotion and civil aviation through creating direct flight between the two countries, he said, adding that the agreements are expected to be signed during Hun Sen's visit to Russia.

No exact date of Hun Sen's visit to Russia has been made public so far.

Trade and investment volumes between Cambodia and Russia are still relatively small. The two-way trade was valued at 60 million US dollars last year.

On the tourism side, some 131,700 Russian tourists visited Cambodia last year, up 3 percent year-on-year, according to tourism data.