Meeting Incentive Conference Exhibition to See Growth in Siem Riep Cambodia

Luxury Travel has just launched a MICE Department and Specializes in Planning and Organizing Incentive Trips and the Company Spokesperson Says Meeting Incentive Conference Exhibition Sees Growth in Siem Riep Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, February 20, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Teeming with history, marvelous architecture and awash in natural beauty, Cambodia is fast becoming a must see destination in South East Asia. The largest religious monument ever built, Angkor Wat ranks at the top destinations in South Est Asia and top of globetrotting VIP business travellers - must see list of wonders in the world.

After a lengthy period of internal strife and civil war curtailed travel to Cambodia for the better part of three decades, the establishment of the peace has spurred a rise in tourism accompanies by a hotel constructions boom in the town of Siem Riep located just fine miles from Angkor Wat.

Cambodia now becomes a wonderful place to celebrate MICE smoothly, reaching both successful business meeting and negotiation and enjoyable holiday business.

Meeting Incentive Conference and Exhibition, MICE for short, is becoming increasingly important in business context as this model provides elegant facilities with a wide variety of recreational activities during the pleasure holiday business.

With its unique incredible and fabulous culture and nature destination's beauty, Cambodia can be a better place to celebrate MICE smoothly, reaching both successful business meeting, and enjoyable business stay.

“Cambodia is for everyone all sizes of MICE. The international standard hotel with modern conference facilities in a world heritage destination, resort and meeting rooms and variety of attraction suiting all taste for nature and culture lovers, golf, relaxation activities, health and spa enthusiasts, cuisine, day trip to marvelous Angkor Wat and Thom. Nature and culture is waiting to sustain ably serve and satisfy most discerning guests” said Tonny Pham, Mice Department Manager of Luxury Travel.

Luxury Travel Co., Ltd (www.luxurytravelvietnam.com) is a 100% fully registered and privately-owned Vietnamese company. Luxury Travel has just launched a MICE department and specializes in planning and organizing incentive trips and have been one of the leading MICE destination companies in the region for over 5 years.

The company’s depth of experience and large infrastructure enable it to create unique itineraries with the operational confidence to fulfill client expectations. Among Luxury Travel’s clients are ambassadors, French ministers, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada…and others.

Luxury Travel is headquartered in Hanoi and has offices around Vietnam and management offices in Laos and Cambodia. Luxury Travel has won numerous travel awards for excellence.

“Our company is the first travel company in Indochina specializing in incentive holidays. We have first hand knowledge on MICE, and excellent relations with suppliers in Mice industry for whatever event or incentive holiday you want. Name it we make it happen in style.” added Tonny.

Luxury Travel has everything you need to organize a successful MICE trip in Vietnam Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

MICE planers can go to www.luxurytravelvietnam.com for meeting incentive conference and exhibition options.
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Global shrimp survey highlights ill effects of illegal trawling in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, The weak legal framework regulating Cambodia's shrimp fishing industry has complicated efforts to curtail unlawful trawling, which has contributed to rising environmental and social hazards, national media reported Friday, citing a report published this week by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The limited nature of available data on the Kingdom's shrimp resources, moreover, makes it difficult to enact programs that would increase the industry's profitability and sustainability, the report stated.

The 10-country survey, titled "The Global Study of Shrimp Fisheries", includes an overview of the Cambodian shrimp industry that highlights holes in the government's knowledge about it, the Phnom Penh Post said.

Researchers were unable to uncover, for example, the contribution of shrimp fishing to the GDP or the exact nature of the taxonomy of the Kingdom's shrimp catch.

But they were able to estimate that trawlers and other vessels bring in between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of shrimp annually, and the report notes that shrimp is "the most valuable fishery export of the country."

With regard to trawling, the report states that the ban against trawling in water less than 20 meters deep is not widely enforced, in part because the majority of trawlers in the Kingdom are small and thus not suited for offshore operations.

Trawling in shallow waters leads to conflicts with small-scale fishers, as trawlers destroy the equipment of small-scale fishers and operators "often do not pay compensation."

Nao Thuok, director of the Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, told the Post Thursday that illegal trawling was largely carried out by Thai and Vietnamese fishermen using illegal equipment.

"We will increase our efforts to fight the foreign fishermen who have invaded to illegally fish in Cambodia," Nao Thuok said.

The FAO report does point to "a significant amount of foreign trawling in the Cambodian zone" but does not say foreign fishermen are primarily to blame for illegal trawling.
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Top Chinese political advisor meets Cambodian King

BEIJING, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met here Friday with visiting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.

Jia spoke highly of the contribution of the Cambodian royal family to promoting Sino-Cambodian ties.

He said the China-Cambodia relationship remains solid and has been growing stronger with joint efforts of the two peoples and cultivation of leaders of the two sides.

China highly values its relations with Cambodia, and would work with Cambodia to advance high-level exchanges, promote practical cooperation, so as to realize common prosperity and cement bilateral relations, he said.

Sihamoni said China is the "most reliable friend" of Cambodia, expressing his gratitude for China's long-term support and economic assistance and for its contribution to Cambodia's national reconciliation, peace and development.

He said Cambodia would join hands with China to continue to promote the bilateral relations to a higher level.
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Thailand says sorry for mortar shell landing in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Thailand on Friday sent a letter to Cambodia to apologize for the wrong shooting of mortar shell into Cambodian land on Feb. 17, according to a press release from the Cambodian foreign ministry.

"I am writing to express to you my sincerest apology for the unfortunate incident that took place on Feb. 17, 2009," said Anupong Paojinda, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, in the letter.

"The mortar shell that landed in the Kingdom of Cambodia was a result of the miscalculation during one of our training exercises. We have since launched a full investigation into the incident," he said.

"Please be assured that the Royal Thai Army has been strictly following the Kingdom of Thailand's policy to maintain peaceful and cordial relationship with all our neighbors. I would like to reassure you that we will use all means to prevent such an incident from happening again in the future," he added.

According to the press release from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the letter was addressed to Meas Sophea, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF).

Also on Friday, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted a RCAF military commander based in the border region as saying that in this week's incident the shells landed two kilometers inside the Cambodian territory.

The 81mm and 106mm shells came down near the Ta Krabey temple and the Bos Thom village, 6 shells exploded in the forest, another2 failed to go off, no one was injured, and no property was damaged, the commander said in condition of anonymity.

Tension between Thailand and Cambodia ratcheted higher in 2008 when troops from both countries clashed at the Preah Vihear temple and soldiers on both sides died in fighting in October, before an uneasy peace was restored.
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KRouge court rejects leader's translation appeal

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan Friday lost an appeal at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal to have his case file translated into French for his famed attorney.

The genocidal regime's leader and his lawyers have argued that in the absence of the translation of the documents into French -- one of the court's three official languages -- Khieu Samphan would not have a fair trial.

Khieu Samphan, 77, is being defended by famed French lawyer Jacques Verges, who has acted for some of the world's most infamous figures including Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan terrorist "Carlos the Jackal".

Judge Prak Kimsan, head of the tribunal's pre-trial chamber, said Friday that the "appeal is inadmissible" because the court's rules do not provide for appeals relating to translation issues.

The judge also said that the defence team already had legal assistants who understand the languages used by the hybrid international-Cambodian court, which was set up in 2006 after years of haggling with the United Nations.

Verges, who is representing Khieu Samphan along with Cambodian lawyer Sa Sovan, said during an appeal hearing last December that only 2.5 percent of the 60,000-page case file had been translated.

Sa Sovan said he was "very regretful" at the ruling.

"The suspect's rights have been violated. So there is no justice at this court," the lawyer said.

But the prosecution welcomed the decision, with Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang saying it was "very important" to make proceedings move forward quickly.

Khieu Samphan is one of five Khmer Rouge leaders who have been detained by the court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-1979 regime.

He went before the court for the first time in April last year to appeal against his pre-trial detention.

The judges adjourned that hearing and warned Verges over his behaviour after he said he was unable to act for his client because court documents had not been translated.

A fierce anti-colonialist, Verges, who was born in Thailand, reportedly befriended Khieu Samphan and other future Khmer Rouge leaders while at university in Paris in the 1950s.

Up to two million people are believed to have been executed or died of starvation and overwork as the communist regime emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia.

The long-awaited first Khmer Rouge trial started earlier this week when the regime's notorious prison chief, Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, went before the court.
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