Hun Sen meets ASEAN head

Hun Sen meets ASEAN head

PHNOM PENH (AP): The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday to discuss the troubled country's future in the regional grouping.

The meeting between Hun Sen and Rodolfo Severino was largely a courtesy call, but marked a smoothing out of the past rocky relations that delayed Cambodia's entry into the group two years ago when Hun Sen toppled his then co-premier in bloody fighting.

The 1997 coup delayed Cambodia's planned admission with Myanmar, also known as Burma, and Laos. Cambodia was admitted as ASEAN's 10th and final member on April 30 during a special ceremony in Hanoi.

Severino said after the meeting that Cambodia was on track to meet obligations as a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area to phase out customs tariffs by 2010.