Webb Pledges Help for Economy

Written by DAP NEWS -- Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Visiting US Senator Jim Webb promises to expand further bilateral cooperation between the US and Cambodia The US has pledged to try to help the Cambodian economy and help boost sales of garments and other Cambodian export goods, a Cambo-dian official said on Tuesday US Senator Jim Webb has promised to expand further bilateral cooperation between the US and Cambo-dia, and he said the US will continue to help Cambodian economy, said Ieng Sophalet, assistant to Hun Sen. He told reporters the talks between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Webb, chairman of the Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs for the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, had been productive. Webb has left for Vietnam after trips to Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Hun Sen asked Webb if he could help spur US demand for Cambodian garments and other goods as such manufacturing had provided jobs to help lift locals out of poverty, Ieng said. The PM thanked Webb for his offer to try to help Cambodia. Hun Sen apparently noted that Cambodia-US relations are at their highest point for a long time. “The US opened an embassy in Phnom Penh and we also have joined in hands to fight against terrorism and we have to expand to cooperate for other fields,” he said. Webb apparently said he so regretted what had happened in Cambodia during the Indochina War and following civil war, Ieng added. At a press conference at the US ambassador’s residence in Phnom Penh, Webb said his visit to Southeast Asia was to strengthen the cooperation between the US and Southeast Asian nations. He also met with opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha.