IMF confident on aid to Cambodia

The International Monetary Fund says it's optimitistic that the progress Cambodia has been making on economic reforms will result in more aid after the annual meeting of international donors in Paris next week on May the twenty-fourth.

The fund's Cambodia representative , Mario De Zamaroczy, says that reforms in Cambodia are moving in the right direction. However he says there are areas where more needs to be done, including reforming the forestry sector, reducing the size of the army and the bureaucracy, and addressing poverty.

Correspondents say the IMF's approach usually reflects the views of donors, who've been cautious about helping Phnom Penh because of the slow progress of reforms. The IMF resumed its loans last year after suspending them four years ago in protest at the continued illegal logging.

It pulled out of the country a year later following the overthrow of Prime Minister Hun Sen's coalition partner, Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service