President Pratibha Patil said India is willing to cooperate with Cambodia in various fields, including infrastructural projects, human resource development and capacity building - a move which is likely to boost bilateral trade between the countries.

"While human resource development and capacity building have been the primary focus of our bilateral relations, India is extremely happy to cooperate with Cambodia in infrastructural projects, as well as in projects related to conservation and preservation of historical monuments," Patil said on Monday.

She was speaking at a reception given by the Indian community in Phnom Penh in her honour.

Patil is travelling with a high-level business delegation from India as part of the second leg of her visit to two ASEAN countries - Laos from September 9 to 13 and Cambodia from September 13 to 18.

During her visit, an agreement for a line of credit for $15 million from India to Cambodia and also a MoU were signed in the area of capacity building between the two countries. 

Bilateral relations between the two countries, first established by independent India during 1950s, were renewed in 1981 after the end of Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

The President also asked the Indian diaspora in Cambodia to be the bridge between the two countries to access knowledge, expertise, resources and markets for the development of the country of their origin.

Expressing "extreme satisfaction" with India's friendly and cooperative ties with Cambodia, Patil said New Delhi would continue to work for strengthening of these ties.

On the same day, the Indian President attended an India-Laos Business Forum in Laos.

Addressing the forum, she called upon Indian businessmen to avail of the opportunities provided by the new Laos investment environment and urged private investors to enter the hydro-power, mining, construction, roads, railways and agricultural sectors in Laos.