Bilateral Relations

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong met Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni yesterday, as he wrapped up his two-day visit to the country and flew to Laos in the afternoon.

At the meeting - his first with King Sihamoni since he was enthroned in 2004 - Mr Goh said he had made his visit to strengthen relations between Singapore and Cambodia and to understand the country's latest developments.

According to the press secretary to SM Goh, King Sihamoni thanked Singapore for the close friendship between the two countries and expressed appreciation for Singapore's contribution to Cambodia's development, especially in the area of human resource development.

The two men also exchanged their experiences in education and promoting culture and the arts.

Mr Goh was cited by his press secretary as noting that Cambodia had much tourism potential, and promoting culture and the arts would further enhance its appeal.

Yesterday, he also called on Senate president Chea Sim and National Assembly president Heng Samrin, who introduced him to members of the Cambodia-Singapore Friendship Group in the Cambodian National Assembly.

Mr Goh also met senior academics and representatives of think-tanks and international organisations in Cambodia.

He left Cambodia for Laos in the afternoon, where he called on Laos Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh in Vientiane in the evening.

During the meeting, which was Mr Goh's first with Mr Bouasone, the Senior Minister said the purpose of his visit to Laos was to underscore the importance of Singapore-Laos relations.

Compared to his last visit to Laos in 1997, the country had achieved significant progress and he was now much more optimistic about Laos' future economic development, Mr Goh told Mr Bouasone.

Singapore and Laos are both small countries and should cooperate, both bilaterally and in the context of Asean to promote Asean integration, he said.

Mr Bouasone expressed his admiration for how Singapore had successfully developed its human capital and said that Laos would be glad to continue its technical cooperation with Singapore in human resource development.

Mr Bouasone also said that he hoped to attract Singapore companies to invest in Laos, especially in areas such as tourism. In this regard, the two leaders discussed the possibility of holding an investment promotion seminar in Singapore, targeted at Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprises, Mr Goh's press secretary said.

Today, SM Goh will meet Laos President Choummaly Sayasone and Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad.