Russia with loans: Thaw shows in Cold War debt amount

The Cambodian and Russian governments have agreed to set up a joint committee to settle a 30-year-old debt.

According to state-owned media AKP, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Wednesday in Myanmar’s capital city to establish a group to negotiate Cambodia’s repayment of a $1.5 billion loan granted in 1979.

“Cambodia’s independence and liberation in 1979 could not have been awarded without the support from Russia,” Hun Sen was quoted as saying in AKP.

Hun Sen reportedly requested the Russian government grant the Kingdom a lower interest rate and said he would send the ministers of foreign affairs, economy and finance, and interior to assist in the debt repayment talks.

He also suggested direct flights between Cambodia and Russia be restarted to boost tourism, and asked the Russian prime minister for investment in the Kingdom’s agriculture sector.

“Cambodia has a lot of agricultural products that can be exported to Russia including milled rice,” Hun Sen said.

Medvedev reportedly agreed to apply a low interest rate to Cambodia’s $1.5 billion debt.

“And at the same time, we have to do everything for trade and investments of both countries,” Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying in the AKP release.