Cambodia’s top legislator hails diplomatic ties with Brunei, urges more economic ties

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) — President of Cambodia’s National Assembly Heng Samrin on Wednesday highly spoke of good diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Brunei, and urged Brunei to look into Cambodia’s potential for trade and investment cooperation.

Heng Samrin made his remarks during a meeting with the newly designated ambassador of Brunei to Cambodia Shaikh Haji Fadilah Bin Shaikh Haji Ahmad.

“Cambodia’s National Assembly is very satisfied with good ties between Cambodia and Brunei,” he said. “Cambodia thanks Brunei for supporting its candidacy for the non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2013-2014 term.”

The two nations are the same members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and they have very good diplomatic ties. However, the relations in trade, investment and tourism are relatively small.

The two-way trade was less than a half of million U.S. dollars in the first six months of this year, according to the commerce report. On the investment side, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia, there has no any investment project from Brunei to Cambodia since 1994.

For tourism, some 560 Brunei people visited Cambodia in first seven months of this year, up 98 percent compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the new ambassador pledged to strengthen and expand bilateral relations and cooperation with Cambodia in all fields for mutual benefits during his mission.

Sourced: nzweek