PHNOM PENH, Nov. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Cambodia has been active and playing an increasingly important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional affairs politically and economically since it became a full member of ASEAN on April 30, 1999.
Cambodia had longed to enter ASEAN but the process was blocked by the civil war in the country which lasted for nearly 30 years.
Following the end of the civil war and the election of a new government in 1993, Cambodia officially applied to join ASEAN after hosting a meeting of directors-general from ASEAN countries in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia attached great importance to the relations with ASEAN member countries, and regarded ASEAN as a strategic window of opportunities to regain its regional role as well as promote its national interests.
When outlining the government's political program over the nextfour years in July 2004, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia's participation in the ASEAN Free Trade Area is a strategic and historical step in the rehabilitation and development of Cambodia.