Thailand, Cambodia to develop ruins

Thailand, Cambodia to develop ruins

THAILAND: Thailand and Cambodia, which once fought a furious legal battle over the 11th century Preah Vihear complex, agreed on Thursday to develop the ruins jointly.

Relations between the two neighbors were disrupted severely in 2003 when a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh over an argument about whether a Thai actress had demanded Cambodia "return" a more famous temple complex, Angkor Wat, to Thailand or not. She denied it.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Cambodian Senior Minister Sok An said the two countries were working on a development scheme for Preah Vihear. "We hope this cooperation will symbolize our bilateral friendship which is based on truly mutual benefit," Surakiart told reporters.

Preah Vihar, awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in The Hague court in 1962 despite access to it being easier from Thailand, is less spectacular than the Angkor Wat complex.

But, perched on a remote and heavily landmined escarpment on the border between the two countries, it has become a tourist attraction since the remnants of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas withdrew from the area in the early 1990s. --Reuters