PHNOM PENH, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia agreed on Tuesday to send the first batch of women to work as housemaids in Malaysia in June, more than six years after the country imposed a ban on sending maids to Malaysia.

The agreement was made during a meeting here between Cambodian Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Ith Samheng and Malaysian Human Resources Minister Richard Riot.

"We agreed that on June 1, the first batch of Cambodian domestic workers will be sent to work in Malaysia," Samheng told reporters after the meeting, adding that it was unknown yet the number of housemaids who would leave for Malaysia in the first batch.

According to the minister, the resumption of sending maids to Malaysia is made based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the two countries signed in 2015.

"The MoU will protect our Cambodian laborers working in Malaysia," he said.

Riot said there are about 1.7 million foreign workers in Malaysia, and about 8,000 of them are Cambodians.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Royal Government of Cambodia for the 8,000 workers. As far as social problem is concerned, they have not created a single social problem to our country," he said.

"In short, I would say that under the MoU, foreign workers including those from Cambodia will be protected ... we will ensure that your workers' welfare will be protected," he added.

Cambodia imposed the ban on sending housemaids to Malaysia in Oct. 2011 following reports of physical abuses and law violation by Malaysian employers.