PHNOM PENH, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Cambodia on Monday signed agreements on the provision of soft loans, visa waivers for diplomats and government officials and labor exchanges after a summit between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen here, Roh's office said.
Roh, the first South Korean president to visit Cambodia, arrived in Phnom Penh from Vietnam Sunday for a four-day state visit.
Roh and Hun held a summit to discuss measures to strengthen practical bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, infrastructure construction, investment and culture, said the office.
Roh also met separately with Chea Sim, president of Cambodia's Senate and acting head of state, for similar discussions.
Following the summit, their Cabinet ministers signed an Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) arrangement binding the South Korean government to disburse an additional US$31 million in EDCF money to help finance the Southeast Asian country's construction of an administrative electronic network, called the Province Administration Information System (PAIS), it said.
The PAIS project calls for building a high-speed e-government network linking Phnom Penh with two other major Cambodian cities. Apart from the soft-loan agreement, Roh agreed to further expand his government's invitation to young Cambodian workers to come to South Korea for industrial training.
According to presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young, Roh promised to extend $37 million in fresh EDCF loans next year to help upgrade a national road linking Phnom Penh and Kampot.
In addition, the president vowed to extend full support for Cambodia's establishment of a stock exchange, as well as consulting in economic development.
He asked the Cambodian leaders to pay more attention to South Korean firms seeking to participate in the construction of power plants and other infrastructure facilities here.
Hun visited South Korea in March for a summit with Roh.
The two countries, which normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, are escalating the joint development of water resources of the Cranpon River in Cambodia, while widening cooperation in tourism, construction, power generation and natural resources development.
Over the past decade, bilateral trade has tripled and South Korea's investment in Cambodia has increased six-fold. The Cambodian economy grew 13.4 percent last year, following a 10 percent growth in 2004.
On Tuesday, South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province and the Cambodian government will jointly open the "Angkor-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2006" at the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia. President Roh, Prime Minister Hun and 400 other officials from both sides will attend the opening ceremony of the expo which will run through Jan. 9 next year.
The expo will showcase the confluence of Angkor Wat historic sites and radiant cultural assets from the ancient Korean dynasty of Silla.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
Roh, the first South Korean president to visit Cambodia, arrived in Phnom Penh from Vietnam Sunday for a four-day state visit.
Roh and Hun held a summit to discuss measures to strengthen practical bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, infrastructure construction, investment and culture, said the office.
Roh also met separately with Chea Sim, president of Cambodia's Senate and acting head of state, for similar discussions.
Following the summit, their Cabinet ministers signed an Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) arrangement binding the South Korean government to disburse an additional US$31 million in EDCF money to help finance the Southeast Asian country's construction of an administrative electronic network, called the Province Administration Information System (PAIS), it said.
The PAIS project calls for building a high-speed e-government network linking Phnom Penh with two other major Cambodian cities. Apart from the soft-loan agreement, Roh agreed to further expand his government's invitation to young Cambodian workers to come to South Korea for industrial training.
According to presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young, Roh promised to extend $37 million in fresh EDCF loans next year to help upgrade a national road linking Phnom Penh and Kampot.
In addition, the president vowed to extend full support for Cambodia's establishment of a stock exchange, as well as consulting in economic development.
He asked the Cambodian leaders to pay more attention to South Korean firms seeking to participate in the construction of power plants and other infrastructure facilities here.
Hun visited South Korea in March for a summit with Roh.
The two countries, which normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, are escalating the joint development of water resources of the Cranpon River in Cambodia, while widening cooperation in tourism, construction, power generation and natural resources development.
Over the past decade, bilateral trade has tripled and South Korea's investment in Cambodia has increased six-fold. The Cambodian economy grew 13.4 percent last year, following a 10 percent growth in 2004.
On Tuesday, South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province and the Cambodian government will jointly open the "Angkor-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2006" at the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia. President Roh, Prime Minister Hun and 400 other officials from both sides will attend the opening ceremony of the expo which will run through Jan. 9 next year.
The expo will showcase the confluence of Angkor Wat historic sites and radiant cultural assets from the ancient Korean dynasty of Silla.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
1 comment:
The Vietcong need some serious competition from the Korean!
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