A railway reconnecting Cambodia and Thailand was officially inaugurated on Monday in a bid to slash travel times and boost trade between the southeast Asian neighbours.
Cambodian premier Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-O-Cha witnessed a signing ceremony at a Thai border post before riding together to the Cambodian town of Poipet on a train donated by Thailand.The pair — with Prayut dressed in a bright yellow shirt — stepped from the carriage in Poipet with their clasped hands held high to the cheers of waiting crowds, waving flags of both countries.
The railway would also better link his country to other southeast Asian neighbours and boost economy and trade, he added.Cambodia last year re-opened the final stretch of a 370-kilometre railway running from the capital, Phnom Penh, to the Thai border.Much of Cambodia’s railways — built by the French in colonial times — were damaged by the years of bitter conflict that engulfed the country during the Cold War era.