Cambodia, other countries to benefit from China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives: PM

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that Cambodia and other countries around the world will benefit from the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road were initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.

To back the initiatives, President Xi has also initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with the initial capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars and in November last year, President Xi also announced the Silk Road Fund with China's contribution of 40 billion U.S. dollars. "These will be a new source of capital for countries in developing infrastructure and connectivity," Hun Sen said during a groundbreaking ceremony for a road construction in northwest Cambodia's Pursat province. "Cambodia and other countries will get benefits from these initiatives."

Meanwhile, the prime minister said that he is proud to hold a meeting with President Xi on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 23.

He said the meeting was a historic event because 60 years ago, late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk met with late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai at the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.

"The two former leaders had initiated the diplomatic relations between Cambodia and China. Sixty years later, their successors have continued to further enhance the Cambodia-China relations," he said. Endi