Japanese PM to visit Cambodia on ties this weekend

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pay a two-day official visit to Cambodia on Saturday to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. During his visit, Abe will hold an official talk with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and then, the two premiers will preside over the signing ceremony of two documents, the ministry said in a press statement. One is an agreement between the two governments concerning cooperation on education and training in the area of United Nations peacekeeping operations, and the other is a memorandum of cooperation between the Cambodian Health Ministry and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Abe will also be received in a royal audience by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, the statement said. At the end of the visit, a joint statement between Cambodia and Japan will be issued. Besides, Abe will attend the Symposium on Health and Medical Services, and visit the Japan-funded National Maternal and Child Health Center. Japan is the second largest provider of grants and concessional loans to Cambodia after China. According to the Cambodian government's records, Japan has provided over 2 billion U.S. dollars to Cambodia as of last year for social infrastructure development. However, bilateral trade and investment relations are still at low levels. The bilateral trade was valued at 591 million U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2013, up 25 percent over the same period last year, the Japan External Trade Organization said. Only 300 million U.S. dollars of Japanese investments have flowed into Cambodia in banking, manufacturing industries and shopping mall development in the last three years. On the tourism side, some 150,800 Japanese had visited the Southeast Asian nation in the first nine months of this year, up 16 percent over the same period last year, ranking Japan the sixth largest source of tourist arrivals to Cambodia.