US defense secretary to visit Cambodia next week

The United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will make a one-day official visit to Cambodia on Nov. 16 in order to bolster military ties between the two countries, according to a press release from Cambodian Ministry of Defense on Monday. During the visit, Panetta will hold bilateral talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh in Siem Reap province, the press release said, adding that the talks will focus on cooperation in the defense sector between Cambodia's Defense Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense. It said that both sides will discuss cooperation in military human resources development, search for the remains of U.S. soldiers missing in war time, and other issues. "It will be the first time that Leon Panetta visits Cambodia to boost bilateral ties in military and security," Lt. Gen. Nem Sowath, director general of the Defense Ministry's Policy and Foreign Affairs Department, said in a press briefing on Monday. He said that Panetta's visit to Cambodia will coincide with the ASEAN Defense Ministers Retreat to be held in Cambodia's Siem Reap province from Nov. 15-17, so there could be an informal consultation between the ASEAN Defense Ministers and Panetta.