Saturday, April 19, 2008

Cambodia presents documents on ASEAN charter's ratification

JAKARTA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government handed documents on the country's ratification of the ASEAN Charter to ASEAN's Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan on Friday, according to local media Saturday.

Cambodia is the sixth country that has ratified the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Charter after Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, Antara news agency quoted Pitsuwan as saying before receiving the documents from the Cambodian envoy at a ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat here.

Pitsuwan praised Cambodia as one of the ASEAN's youngest members for being very active and having a strong commitment to accelerating ASEAN's regional integration.

Four other ASEAN member countries have not yet to ratify the charter, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand.

It was just a matter of time for the four states to ratify the ASEAN Charter, Pitsuwan said.

The ASEAN Charter was signed on November 20, 2007 by the Leaders of the ASEAN's 10 member countries at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore coinciding with ASEAN's 40th anniversary.

The charter embodies the ASEAN members' resolve to become a more solid and integrated regional community.

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