Thai parliament chief pledges to help improve ties with Cambodia

Thai parliament chief pledges to help improve ties with Cambodia

Somsak Kiatsuranont, president of Thailand's National Assembly, promised on Tuesday to help boost bilateral relations and cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia after the two neighbors' ties have been damaged since 2008 due to the border conflict.

Speaking in a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Phnom Penh's Peace Palace, Somsak Kiatsuranont said now the peoples of Thailand and Cambodia have become "fraternal" again after the Pheu Thai Party won in the general election in July.

He said that both Thailand and Cambodia have the same aspiration to see the disputed border areas becoming markets, so now it should be the time for the two neighbors to boost bilateral trade and investment for the interests of the two peoples.

He said that the nature has provided Cambodia and Thailand to have offshore overlapping areas that are rich in mineral resources, so the two countries should join forces to tap those mineral resources to develop their respective economies.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen said that he was very satisfied with recent improving relations between Cambodia and Thailand, adding that the things that happened in the past were just the nightmare in Cambodian and Thai relations.

Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflicts over the territorial dispute near Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008 and witnessed fierce border fighting in February and April during the Thai's Democrat-led administration.

But tensions have eased since the Pheu Thai Party, led by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's youngest sister Yingluck Shinawatra, won a landslide victory in the general elections on July 3.

Editor: yan

English.news.cn   2011-09-20 22:51:58 FeedbackPrintRSS
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 20 (Xinhua)