Russia agrees to cancel 70% of Cambodia-owed debt

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia has agreed to mark off 70 percent of the debt that Cambodia owed in the past years, said Cambodian parliamentarian Cheam Yeap here on Tuesday.

"I would like to inform you that Russia has canceled 70 percent of the debt that the kingdom owed," said the chairman of the National Assembly's committee of finance, banking and audition.

Cambodia borrowed about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars from Russia through its previous governments, he said.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also agreed to cancel 82 million U.S. dollars of debt owed by Cambodia, but the United States refused to follow suit, he said.

Cambodia owed 339 million U.S. dollars in all to U.S., he said.

"We thank all the countries that have omitted our debt to them, including China," the chairman added.

Cambodia is among the least developed countries in the world. Half of its national budget used to be met by donor countries with economic aid.

Editor: Zheng E