Thursday, May 04, 2006

U.S. senior official visits Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Eric John, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, arrived here on Thursday to pay a two-day official visit to Cambodia.

Eric John has met on Thursday with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong and other government officials as well as opposition leaders and representatives of civil society, according to a statement of the U.S. Embassy.

In his meeting, John emphasized continuing U.S. support for the strong cooperation between the two countries in diverse sectors, including public health, counter-terrorism, labor rights, trade, law enforcement, and recovery of POW /MIA (American prisoner of war and missing in action) remains. They also discussed the issues of democracy and ways to further enhance cooperation between ASEAN and the U.S.

Eric John said, "We are pleased with the growing partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Cambodia in so many fields."

He also said that "as Cambodia's largest trading partner and second largest bilateral donor, we wish Cambodia well in its efforts to advance national development, including in promoting economic transparency and fighting corruption." Enditem

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