PHNOM PENH, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia can bridge the economies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will help Cambodia's socioeconomic development and diversify its export markets, the country's foreign minister said.
Cambodia has been a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2015, said Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, adding that the SCO has identified specific areas of cooperation which mesh well with Cambodia's development policies and strategies.
"We have seen the SCO's growing potential for cooperation in the spheres of security and economy as well as other areas of cooperation including trade, investment, energy, tourism and anti-terrorism," Sokhonn said.
The foreign minister noted that the SCO's fundamental principles "are conformed to Cambodia's core principles of 'permanent neutrality' under its Constitution."
Sokhonn pointed out that these principles are aimed at maintaining peace and security, establishing partnerships between states, protecting national sovereignty and respecting the right to determine one's own destiny and path for political, socioeconomic and cultural development.