Cambodia, Nepal Seek Mutual Aid in UN Bids

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Monday, 06 December 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP
Hor Namhong, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, addresses the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, at United Nations headquarters.

“We wanted to share experiences with other countries in the world in terms of ending war, national reconciliation and peace-building.”

Cambodia and Nepal are each seeking support from one another in their respective bids with the UN General Assembly, top officials said Monday.

Cambodia has had a request with the General Assembly for non-permanent membership since 2005, with the international body expected to decide on it in the 67th General Assembly in New York in 2012.

Nepal, meanwhile, is seeking its own position for the presidency of the General Assembly, in competition with Qatar, in the 2011 session.

Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was among regional leaders in Phnom Penh last week, told reporters Friday that both Cambodia and Nepal has requested help from each other.

Cambodia has slowly begun participating in the UN system, sending “blue helmet” peacekeepers, mostly deminers, to Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic and Lebanon over the past few years. Cambodia has been a full member of the UN since 1955.

“We wanted to share experiences with other countries in the world in terms of ending war, national reconciliation and peace-building,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.