Cambodia wants into ASEAN

Cambodia wants into ASEAN

PHNOM PENH (Reuters): Cambodia's foreign minister told
ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) on Friday that Phnom Penh was seeking entry into the
group as soon as possible, a ministry official said.

Hor Namhong delivered a message to the ambassador of Singapore
for Singapore's foreign minister, Shanmugam Jayakumar, the
current chairman of the ASEAN standing committee, asking that a
ceremony marking Cambodia's admission be organized soon, the
official said.

The request came a day after Cambodia's National Assembly
approved legislation establishing a Senate.

Some ASEAN members had made the establishment of a Senate a
prerequisite for Cambodia's admission.