Cambodia refugee deal close

Cambodia hopes to sign a controversial refugee resettlement deal with Australia within weeks.

The Cambodian government says a working group has completed a study on Australia's proposal and will reply in the coming days.

Secretary of state in the foreign ministry, Ouch Borith, told ABC radio that Cambodia is hoping to sign a memorandum of understanding with Australia "as soon as possible" - hopefully within weeks.

Mr Borith refused to reveal how many refugees the country would take in, or how much it would cost the Australian government.

Human rights groups are concerned about using Cambodia to resettle refugees.

Amnesty International says Cambodia is still struggling to protect the rights of its own citizens.