Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Thursday urged border committees from Cambodia and Thailand to find a resolution to the ongoing border dispute between the two neighbors.
Hor Namhong made his remarks ahead of a joint border committee meeting scheduled in Bangkok next week, where he will meet with his counterpart Kasit Phiromya.
Hor Namhong told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he would push for a resolution to the crisis, which has claimed seven lives in military skirmishes over the past year, and would seek to have the disputed border demarcated.
Thai soldiers entered a disputed area in July 2008 near Preah Vihear temple, which had just been listed as a World Heritage site. The incursion sparked a massive build-up of troops on both sides, and several rounds of talks have failed to resolved the problem.
Var Kimhong, head of Cambodia’s border committee, said the Cambodia side will request from Thailand “a clear date” for the joint committees to find suitable places for border demarcation.
Cambodia and Thailand have approved more than 30 out of 73 sites where markers need to be placed along 805 kilometers of border, he said.