The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Bahrain will sign a joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations to expand the cooperation between a country in South East Asia and a country in the Middle East, a Cambodian official said on Monday.

Hor Nam Hong, Cambodia's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, and his Bahraini counterpart will sign the joint communiqué of creating the official diplomatic ties, said Koy Khong, under secretary of state and spokesman for Cambodia's Foreign Ministry.

"It is the first time for the two countries to mend the diplomatic ties," he said, adding that in future the two countries will expand cooperation on tourism, investment, trade, and economy.

According to a press release from the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, Hor is to join the first ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Ministerial Meeting, to be held from June 29 to 30, in Manama, Bahrain.

At the meeting, "we will talk about the cooperation on the global economic and financial crisis, combating terrorism, poverty reduction, sustainable development and economy," Koy Khong said.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Gulf group includes Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Source: Xinhua