The Chinese government on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Cambodian government in Phnom Penh to provide an interest-free loan of 100 million yuan (about US$12.5 million) in the next five years to implement the projects already agreed upon by both sides.

 

Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy Duan Jinzhu and Cambodian Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhun signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.

 

Details of the projects have not been disclosed yet.

 

The Chinese government has kept providing aids and help to Cambodia without any conditions attached, as both sides are brothers, friends as well as partners, said Duan.

 

Keat Chhun expressed appreciation for the consistent help from the Chinese government which aims at improving the social and economic development of the kingdom.

 

The latest loan shows that cooperation between the two countries has made new progress, he added.

 

According to official statistics, the Chinese and Cambodian governments have signed 10 agreements on economic and technical cooperation since 1994.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2006)