Cambodia poised for ASEAN: Goh

Cambodia poised for ASEAN: Goh

PHNOM PENH (Reuter): Cambodia was on track to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July next year, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said yesterday.

"I think Cambodia will probably be ahead of Laos and Myanmar (Burma)," Goh, referring to two other countries with ASEAN observer status, said at the end of a two-day visit to Cambodia.

Cambodia had made progress towards rehabilitation, Goh said. But he added that he still had some lingering concerns over political stability in the country.

"The message the Cambodian government has to put across is that...whatever happens in the upcoming elections, the ruling government will do a lot for foreign investors," he said.

Singapore is Cambodia's leading trading partner, with more than $350 million in investment in the first eight months of 1996, said Cambodia's Minister of Commerce, Cham Prasidh.