Cambodia and Serbia sign deal on bilateral consultations

Cambodia and Serbia on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral consultations, aiming to provide mutual support on international arenas. The deal was signed between Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and the visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic. "The MoU is a fundamental base for both sides to cooperate each other on international forums," Hor Namhong told reporters after the signing ceremony. He said it was the first visit of Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic to Cambodia. "In the meeting prior to the signing ceremony, we agreed that we would try our best to strengthen and expand bilateral relations and cooperation in all fields." "Also, we agreed to strengthen defense cooperation. Serbian deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister (Aleksander Vucic) will visit Cambodia in order to bridge relationship and cooperation in military sector between the two countries," he said. In addition, both sides agreed to exchange visits of business delegates between the two countries in order to promote economic and trade ties, he said. "We also discussed Serbia's access to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," he said. Meanwhile, Hor Namhong said that Serbia announced to write off the debt of more than 1 million U.S. dollars that Cambodia owed prior to 1969. Serbia also agreed to grant scholarship to Cambodian students to study in Serbia in 2013-2014 academic year. Ivan Mrkic arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit. He is scheduled to meet separately with President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday afternoon.