HANOI, May 17. /TASS/. Cambodia and Russia should intensify efforts on developing bilateral cooperation, the country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said in an exclusive interview with TASS ahead of his first visit to Russia.
The prime minister reminded that this year Cambodia and Russia mark the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. "Despite difficult and complex changes in international politics over the past six decades, our ties have stood the test of time and preserved the traditions of firm friendship, cooperation, mutual trust and understanding," he said.
He reminded that the two countries maintain regular political dialogue through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. "My current working visit to Russia will become another step towards deepening the developing cooperation of our countries in a range of regions, including in the judicial area, information and communications technologies, trade, investments and nuclear energy," Hun Sen said.
The implementation of a joint statement on the list of projects of the Cambodian-Russian trade and economic and investment cooperation up to 2020, which is being prepared to be signed, is an important contribution to the further growth and extension of economic ties, he said.
In terms of economy, Russia and Cambodia have a significant potential to complement each other taking into consideration Cambodia’s strategic location in the Southeast Asia region, the premier said.
"I’m sure that Cambodia’s interest in cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union will open new possibilities for business circles of our countries on the markets of ASEAN and Eurasia," he said. "We need to work more closely to raise the cooperation of Cambodia and Russia to a higher level."
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Russia-ASEAN summit
The Russia-ASEAN summit will be held in Sochi on May 19-20 and will become the biggest international event in Russia in 2016. The summit will be held under the slogan "Towards Strategic Partnership for the Sake of the Common Good."
The summit is expected to adopt a declaration that will lay the basis for an action plan of Russia-ASEAN cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres, as well as in the sphere of security.
Russia has been a dialog partner of ASEAN since July 1996. Similar partnership summits are normally held on the territory of member-states and the choice of Sochi as venue for the Russia-ASEAN summit on the partnership’s 20th anniversary is symbolic.