Cambodia and India set to cooperate in energy and defence

Phnom Penh: Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, is scheduled to leave for India on a three day visit during which he is expected to sign several agreements, including cooperation and technical assistance on oil and natural gas, according to the Cambodian ministry of foreign affairs. It is also expected that a pact on defence cooperation may be signed during the visit.

According to the ministry, Hun Sen is scheduled to leave Sunday to conduct high-level talks with India, during which accords may be signed, including one on cooperation and technical assistance between the National Petroleum Authority of Cambodia and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India. A prisoner-exchange agreement may also be signed during the visit, along with a pact on defence cooperation.

It is expected that Hun Sen will pay a courtesy call on Indian president, Abdul Kalam and hold official talks with Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, during the three-day visit, scheduled to end Wednesday, the ministry said.

The Cambodian prime minister's delegation would also include Cambodian foreign minister, Hor Namhong, defence minister Tea Banh and commerce minister, Cham Prasidh.

India and Cambodia have strong ties dating back to India's 1954-73 chairmanship of the International Commissions of Control and Supervision established by the 1954 Geneva Accords on Indochina.

Even though much of the rest of the world continued to recognize the Khmer Rouge as the rightful government of Cambodia for years after its ousting by Vietnamese-backed troops in 1979, India almost immediately established diplomatic relations with the new Vietnamese-backed government in 1980 and has remained a trusted ally.