Economic and Social Council hears National Voluntary Presentations by Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia, Cape Verde

GENEVA, 3 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council this afternoon heard National Voluntary Presentations by Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia and Cape Verde on progress in implementing their national development strategies towards the achievement of internationally agreed development goals and the Millennium Development Goals.

Ato Mekonnen Manyazewal, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia, said that since the early 90s, Ethiopia’s overall development policy was to fight poverty and ultimately eradicate it. The heart of the matter was the pillar strategy leading the way out of poverty. The first pillar was building capacity at district and regional levels. The second pillar was on the empowerment of women. Human development, education and health were also critical. On health, vaccinations were most important for child health and positive progress could be seen there. Capacity-building for the implementation of programmes was also an important challenge. Ethiopia had made significant improvements in the business and investment climate.

George Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana, said that the country had launched a recovery programme. Despite progress made, the economy basically remained the same. This placed severe limitations on Ghana’s capacity to address poverty in the country. Food security had improved. On child nutrition, all the indicators were pointing in the right direction. Ghana had developed a growth and poverty reduction strategy. The strategy anchored on four main pillars, including continued macroeconomic stability, private sector competitions and civil responsibility among others. The priority areas were on agriculture modernization and on closing the infrastructure gap. On health, high quality intervention and services were sustained. Achieving an accelerated growth would require massive investments in priority sectors of the economy.

Chhay Than, Senior Minister for Planning of Cambodia, said during the last eight years, Cambodia and its people had enjoyed the benefit of peace, political stability and economic growth. Stability and enhanced security had contributed to Cambodia’s growth, and the Government had embarked on reform in certain frameworks. The average per capita income had almost doubled from 2000 to 2003. Inflation had been low. The Government wished to have a consistent and effective legal framework, responsive to the needs of the country and its people and promoting economic growth. The Government highly valued its development partners for supporting the work of Cambodia in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Its long-term aim was to free Cambodia from poverty and disease, with all living together in peace and harmony, without discrimination based on gender or religion.

Victor Borges, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde, said with regards to the reduction of poverty and food insecurity in that country, he was not convinced that these issues could be micro-discussed. Cape Verde was a small country in Western Africa, but was a country, which had to be seen and analysed as an island nation. Cape Verde had a great deal of vulnerability, and had to face vulnerabilities on a number of levels, environmental, economic, and in terms of security. Only 10 per cent of the territory was available as arable land; rainfall was insufficient, irregular and unpredictable, making farming a difficult activity. Good governance also led to commitment to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. Cape Verde had put a range of tools in place to implement these. There was a structural food deficit in Cape Verde due to a lack of local food production. Some of the Millennium Development Goals had already been achieved such as education, infant mortality and health.

Within the context of the interactive dialogue on the National Voluntary Presentations by Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia and Cape Verde, representatives of the following States and organizations took the floor: Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Economic Commission for Africa, Philippines, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Pakistan, Guinea, Cambodia, Japan, Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific, Office of the High Representative for Landlocked and Least-developed Countries, Luxembourg, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Netherlands, Barbados, United States and Portugal.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Economy of Belarus, Nikolai Zaichenko, spoke because he had to leave Geneva and would not be able to address the Council during the general discussion on the Annual Ministerial Review, taking place on Wednesday, 4 July.

Mr. Zaichenko said that the main goal of the policy of Belarus was ensuring sustainable growth in the qualitative life of the public, and to develop human potential. The economic policy of the country aimed to minimise such trends as unemployment, social and property-based stratification, and other difficulties. The basis of the growth in material prosperity was the increase in GDP. There was a low level of differentiation of the population in terms of incomes. Belarus had one of the lowest poverty gap ratios. The labour market was controlled, and unemployment was at a low level.

The Council is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday, 4 July at 9:30 a.m., when it will start the general debate on the Annual Ministerial Review, which will conclude with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration.

Statement by Minister for Economy of Belarus

NIKOLAI P. ZAICHENKO, Minister of Economy of Belarus, in the context of the general discussion on the Annual Ministerial Review that will start on 4 July, said with regard to the issues that the Council was discussing, the main goal of the policy of Belarus was ensuring sustainable growth in the qualitative life of the public, and to develop human potential. The economic policy of the country aimed to minimise such trends as unemployment, social and property-based stratification, and other difficulties. The measures adopted by the Government had made it possible to ensure dynamic growth in many fields, including the value of income, and a reduction of the level of disadvantage and poverty.

The basis of the growth in material prosperity was the increase in GDP. There was a low level of differentiation of the population in terms of income. Belarus had one of the lowest poverty gap ratios. The basic minimum wage worked as a social guarantee. The labour market was controlled, and unemployment was at a low level. At the same time, there were concerns connected with the ongoing tensions on the labour market, in particular in rural areas and small towns. The Government had a programme for development of these areas, focusing largely on ensuring employment therein. There were new approaches for solving these problems on the basis of developing entrepreneurship and small- and medium-sized enterprises. It was developing the former that was the key in terms of reducing poverty and the key factor in ensuring sustainable economic growth.

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation by Ethiopia

ATO MEKONNEN MANYAZEWAL, State Minister for Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia, said that the outline of the presentation would be on the national development framework and how the Millennium Development Goals were integrated in it. Since the early 90s, Ethiopia’s overall development policy was to fight poverty and ultimately eradicate it. All of the sector policies and programmes were informed of this overriding goal. The current five-year plan had at its core the poverty eradication objective and integrating it within the national framework of the Millennium Development Goals. A ten-year assessment was taken. The heart of the matter was the pillar strategy leading the way out of poverty. The first pillar was building capacity at district and regional levels. The private sector had so far limited capacity so it had to be built up. Redistribution did not work so growth was needed to enlarge the cake. The source of the growth had to be agricultural and rural development.

There had been a reduction in the population growth, Mr. Manyazewal said. The momentum was already there and early-on actions needed to be taken, like improving family planning, education and health care. The second pillar was concerned the empowerment of women. The country could not achieve the Millennium Development Goals without addressing the issue of women. There was an infrastructure deficit, which needed to be changed to attract foreign investments. Human development, education and health were also critical. It was important to take into account the risks of the implementation of the growth agenda, such as trade being connected to the external environment. Taking all those pillars together was important. They reinforced each other. The five-year plan required the equivalent of $ 5 billion. Available funds would be used first to finance the programmes. GDP and per capita income had been accelerating. A major part of the public spending went to the poor. Ethiopia was trying to mobilize internal resources. Exports were growing but the trade imbalance was still large. Key poverty outcomes had been quite rapid. The poverty head count had been declining.

The food poverty count had also decreased from 42 to 35 per cent, the Minister said. On health, vaccinations were most important for child health and positive progress could be seen there. Malaria nets had been distributed. Family planning access was also being focused on. Some trends required a change of rate to meet the Millennium Development Goals. A monitoring system was needed at a national level and sectorally. With regard to the challenges, the rate of progress needed to be accelerated. The different regional states had also different growth rates. Capacity building for the implementation of programmes was also an important challenge. Concerning the opportunities, there were institutional frameworks helping to coordinate actions in different regions. The commitment of the G8 was an opportunity. But progress to realizing this commitment needed further realization. Ethiopia felt that growth was essential and should be broad-based. Infrastructure was important as well as investments in human capital and health. Ethiopia intended to use the opportunities offered to it. But the focus lay on building capacity for trade. Ethiopia had made significant improvements in the business and investment climate. Mostly, women had benefited from it. Ensuring gender equity was central to the country. It was important to have a state transformation policy to a low level administration.

JAMES RUBIN, Moderator of the Discussion and World Affairs Commentator at Sky News, said all had heard about the extent to which the environment, governance and other issues affected poverty, but not the extent to which security affected poverty in Ethiopia. A lot of the country’s operations had gone towards technology and military efforts, and this had an undeniable effect on ability to take care of citizens, or the ability to promote investment in the country. Could the Minister suggest the extent to which aid was not as important as security conditions, the Moderator asked?

FERNANDE A. HOUMGBEDJI ( Benin) said her country wanted to ask about the regional aspect. The regional dimension had an impact on national policies. How was this regional dimension taken into account in the national policies of Ethiopia?

ALFREDO CABRAL ( Guinea-Bissau) said the Minister’s statement shed interesting and instructive light on the efforts that the Government of Ethiopia was making to eradicate poverty. Any responsible Government worthy of the name needed to work to ensure not only to eradicate poverty, but that the people should be given the possibility of hoping for and aspiring to a better future. The positive experiences that were of benefit to a given country could be imitated elsewhere, and this should be borne in mind. Ethiopia was frequently affected by a cycle of famine, due to drought, and the Minister should clarify what measures were taken in this respect, as poverty could not be fought without taking into consideration other related measures. The climate could not be controlled, but there should be a certain level of food sufficiency, which was essential to ensure that people could actually live. Thus, what measures had been taken to meet the need for a certain level of food sufficiency, given the situation that affected this part of Africa? The political situation was also of importance, and the Government was obliged to focus on other tasks than those involved in poverty alleviation.

JEAN GABRIEL RANDRIANARISON ( Madagascar) said on the high-level growth in the gross domestic product, what sectors were involved and produced this growth. What was the tax level in comparison to gross domestic product (GDP)? A question was also raised on the topic of redistribution.

ABDOULIE JANNEH, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said Ethiopia was indeed a success story. The key drivers for this impressive recovery on growth were several: Ethiopia maintained some continuity in the policy agenda; the focus on national ownership; the area of capacity-building; official development aid, which was the lowest in Africa on a per-head basis; the area of the diaspora, which was playing a very active role; and Ethiopia’s skilful management of new international relationships, such as with China. Ethiopia was making progress. For this to continue, in addition to national efforts, international cooperation was essential, and should continue in the near future. The international community should realise that success in Ethiopia was critical, and should resist the temptation to jeopardise this in the face of temporary difficulties.

ROMULO NERI ( Philippines) said that the presentation of Ethiopia showed some examples of knowledge transfers. He expressed his frustration on some points. Technology transfer was more important than money.

Mr. MANYAZEWAL, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia, responding, said that most of the questions had focused on the subregion. On the issue of security, this certainly had an impact. Ethiopia had made it clear it had one battle to fight, and that was poverty. It would not raise its arms and knock on the doors of others. It had always tried to defend itself - it had never in its history been the aggressor. Ethiopia was investing in its roads, health facilities, and others, and was working to protect its assets and the security of its citizens. It used its diplomatic channels to discuss such issues as conflict prevention. Its defence budget was about 2.5 per cent of GDP, and this was about average. It had been fixed for the last few years. As much as possible, Ethiopia worked to protect its resources.

There was a need to inject technology, to provide knowledge on many levels, and Ethiopia deployed development agents in every village. There were farmer training centres in every village. There were many areas that were vulnerable, and the Government had developed a five-year plan, the Productive Safety Net. It built community assets, and rehabilitated the environment, and this was showing results. School and health centre construction also contributed to grow. There was a need to enhance the income derived from taxes.

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation of Ghana

GEORGE GYAN-BAFFOUR, Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana, said that he wanted to speak first about Ghana’s medium-term Development Policy Framework. The country had launched a recovery programme. Despite progress made, the economy basically remained the same. Economic growth remained stagnant below 5 per cent. This placed severe limitations on Ghana’s capacity to address poverty in the country. The strategy treated the Millennium Development Goals as long-term minimum objectives for socio-economic development. There was a widened fiscal space between 2000 and 2006. Bank lending rates declined from 47 per cent to 22 per cent. Significant contributions to growth enabled the GDP to grow from 3.7 per cent to 6.2 per cent. Comparing the poverty rate in Ghana and those from Sub Saharan Africa, Ghana was below the Sub Saharan outreach. Food security had improved. On child nutrition, all the indicators were pointing in the right direction.

Ghana had developed a growth and poverty reduction strategy, the Minister said. The emphasis was on growth. The strategy anchored on four main pillars, including continued macroeconomic stability, private sector competitions and civil responsibility. The priority areas were on agriculture modernization and on closing the infrastructure gap. Science and education should be increased at all levels, with particular focus on the education of girls. On health, high quality intervention and services were sustained. The challenge was the attainment of a minimum GDP growth of 8 per cent. There were investment requirements. Ghana wanted to strengthen its partnership with the development partners. An increase in donor support was expected. Achieving an accelerated growth would require massive investments in priority sectors of the economy.

Mr. RUBIN, Moderator, said he felt compelled to add that the report had gone in great detail into the economic evolution of the country. In a brief off-the-cuff remark at the end, the Minister had said the most important thing: that there were countries that were far worse than Ghana with regards to corruption and transparency, and which had not struggled as Ghana had, and yet, on a per capita basis and official development aid, those countries were getting all the money! The developed world did not wish to talk about aid, nor about the Millennium Development Goals with regards to aid, but somebody in the room should explain how this Ghana paradox could be prevented in the future, so that progress was not deterred.

MARCIA HELENA CARVALHO LOPES ( Brazil) said that with regards to studies on social policies, results were only achieved when social programmes were taking place on a permanent basis. It was not possible to provide these services in all homes with due universality of coverage and equal treatment with respect to all States. Brazil had a single health care system. National standards were regulating this and other programmes and public services. What was most important was the establishment of institutional models to tackle inequality around the world.

In 2006, Brazil approved a law on food security. It was the State’s obligation to guarantee these rights. Beyond the financial resources, infrastructure needed to be provided to the agenda as well as secure and comprehensive social secure services. It was important in this regard for all countries to build management policies eradicating poverty and hunger.

ALISTAIR FERNIE ( United Kingdom) said the United Kingdom was conscious that it was important in these discussions to allow developing countries to speak, but as the Moderator kept on implying that developed countries had nothing to say, the United Kingdom wished to show that this was not the case. With regards to all four presentations that had been heard so far, all of which received substantial and well-targeted aid from the United Kingdom, global allocation for aid would perhaps be better discussed elsewhere. It was well established that multilateral aid organizations were more likely to have carefully-thought through models for how they allocated aid to countries. Most countries had a slightly more idiosyncratic approach, often influenced by history and geography. The United Kingdom had tried to question these assumptions over the last 10 years, and had worked on how to allocate its aid on the margins to lift more people out of poverty.

An important factor to be taken into account was also public opinion with regards to which countries and which programmes should receive bilateral aid. There were difficult choices that had to be made, and several speakers had said that the international community underrated certain types of countries, including low performers. There was definitely scope for discussions on this, and the international community as a whole could consider how the totality of aid was allocated, and the United Kingdom would be happy to contribute to this discussion.

Mr. CABRAL ( Guinea-Bissau) said his country was impressed by the presentation of Ghana. It was remarkable because the statistics showed the enormous headway that had been made in a short period of time. The Minister from Ghana also highlighted the merits of a market-based economy. Ghana was in many ways a flagship for Africa. Its economy had been opened up and turned into a liberal economy. Investment could thus yield results for all those who needed so, such as the poor of the country. Efforts needed to be made so that the national resources could be redistributed equitably with as much transparency as possible.

Transforming an agricultural-based economy was an immense task. The deficit was quite a challenge. One key aspect of Ghana was that it invested in education to have skilled and trained human resources, capable of transforming their knowledge to their peers. Guinea Bissau wanted to congratulate Ghana for its successes because it was a good example and role model to follow. Such a country should even be encouraged to do better because it encouraged other countries. Ghana should be helped as it needed help in budgetary areas to cover the deficit. As a market-based economy, it was a beacon for all other countries. There were countries making headway and they deserved special attention.

Ms. HOUMGBEDJI ( Benin) said Ghana was seen as a good student in all disciplines, and it was no surprise that it was enjoying success. However, this was also due to long-term efforts, and was not due to a fairy godmother. Benin had had an energy crisis, and all sister nations were counting on Ghana. Did Ghana believe that it could fashion its policy to help its sister nations, such as Benin and Togo, so they could emerge from the crisis, the speaker asked. Further, would the objectives set out in the 2000-2009 plan be achieved?

Mr. JANNEH, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said that Ghana’s success showed what could be achieved through responsible economic management. The most important was the achievements in the area of good governance. Another benefit was a stable region. Taking the trade between Ghana and Nigeria, it had enormous proportions. On the issue of overseas development assistance, Ghana had considerably benefited from it.

RUDOLF FETZER ( Germany) said this was a very good innovation with regards to the Council’s sessions. A number of discussions had been held on donor commitments, and this had become almost a routine. What was new today was that developing countries were presenting their success stories, giving others the opportunity to learn, and this was a positive thing, and a path on which the Council should continue. The Moderator’s frequent challenges to donors did not really hit the point of the debate.

With regards to the presentation of Ghana, the presenter had said there was an impressive growth of agricultural production, and he should give some information on what were the reasons behind this.

Mr. RANDRIANARISON ( Madagascar) congratulated Ghana for its major economic progress. Could Ghana share its experience in the field of monetary policies, tax revenues and financial regulations? A comment valid for both Ethiopia and Ghana was that the financial need was very important and should be provided.

MUNIR AKRAM ( Pakistan) said all knew firstly that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the other development goals were dependent on two things: national efforts, plans and strategies and their implementation; and global partnership. It was encouraging that this year so many developing countries had agreed to present their national plans to the Council, but it was sad that no developed countries had done the same. Next year, there should be some equity - and there should be presentations from both types of country. The complexity of both the issues of governance and of corruption should be appreciated. Bad governance flowed from many things, and was not necessarily from the leadership. Corruption had a national aspect, but a lot of corruption was related to the fact that there were tax havens, that there was capital flight to places which observed secrecy. There was an increased need for international cooperation in this regard. There was a need for further North-South cooperation to eliminate this problem. Official development aid allocations should not be determined by the donors, but by the needs of the national plans and strategies of the countries, with particular concern for the fragile countries.

ALPHA SAW ( Guinea) said that Guinea had already mentioned its esteemed consideration for Ghana. It wanted to raise some questions, firstly on debt and what the current ratio of indebtedness to GDP was. The second point was on inflation. From 2000 to 2006, had inflation dropped to 10 per cent, which was still high by the standards of the International Monetary Fund. Was this something that could be sustained? Finally, a question was raised if Ghana could be a lead country in a monetary zone.

Mr. FERNIE ( United Kingdom) said with regards to the suggestion from Pakistan on donors being reviewed next year, as most knew there was an Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development peer review committee. In the spirit of interactivity and maybe not necessarily reflecting the views of the Government, as this had changed, this was an excellent idea, and it could be further discussed. But if the Council was to examine the situation in developed countries, it should do so in a wide range of countries.

Mr. GYAN-BAFFOUR, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana, said that on the issue of the debt burden, Ghana used to be highly indebted and a poor nation. The debt burden to GDP ratio was about 10 per cent. Ghana was no longer highly indebted although it was still a poor country. On inflation, Ghana needed to reduce it to a single digit. On the question about how Ghana was able to reduce the debt burden, Ghana had worked on the debt to GDP ratio. A Government should not borrow more than 10 per cent of what it collected in taxes and revenues the previous year. The Bank of Ghana was independent and decided by itself on the monetary policy. The Government only decided about the fiscal policy. Ghana was also reducing the domestic debt by reducing the Government’s expenditure. The interest rates could also be reduced that way. On the comment and question by the United Kingdom, which was a major bilateral donor, Ghana was aware that the United Kingdom was more flexible than many other donors.

There was some risk associated with direct budget support, so transparency was important, Mr. Gyan-Baffour said. Some of the poverty reduction efforts had to be institutionalised. Ghana was trying hard to stay focused and complacency could create problems if it was not handled well. There was the West-African Power Pool, aiming at sharing power between neighbouring countries. The monetary zone was also something in place. On the sources of growth, Ghana mentioned coco production as the largest agriculture product. In terms of other crops, it had increased because of the increase of the percentage of irrigated land, which rose from 1.4 per cent to 12 per cent.

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation of Cambodia

Mr. CHHAY, Senior Minister for Planning of Cambodia, said that, during the last eight years, Cambodia and its people had enjoyed the benefits of peace, political stability and economic growth. Stability and enhanced security had contributed to Cambodia’s growth, and the Government had embarked on reform within certain frameworks. Those efforts had taken strong root in the socio-economic framework of Cambodia, and the economy had become ever more resilient and dynamic: the average per capita income had almost doubled from 2000 to 2003; and inflation had been low. The population was still growing, and Cambodia had the largest young population it had ever had. The Government recognized that achieving the Millennium Development Goals could not be possible without the contribution of Cambodia’s development partners, to whom the people and Government of Cambodia were grateful for their help in reducing poverty.

The Cambodian Government wished to have a consistent and effective legal framework, responsive to the needs of the country and its people, and promoting economic growth, Mr. Than said. Many efforts had been undertaken to strengthen core human rights and to reform such areas as the judiciary, with a draft anti-corruption law slated for adoption. After rigorous implementation of the Financial Development Strategy, Cambodia’s financial system had begun to play a more important role, giving strong impetus to the Government to continue towards implementation of the Financial Development Strategy 2006-2015. Although difficulties remained, the Government had made considerable progress in certain areas, including a trade framework.

Cambodia was aware of the narrow base of development in Cambodia, which was driven mainly by certain areas, and that that was the cause of inequality. Making the economy resistant to shocks was a high priority, Mr. Than noted, and therefore the revitalization of the rural and agricultural sectors was a priority. In the medium-term, the Government would be required to make considerable investment in infrastructure, and it urged development partners to support those efforts. The Government had redistributed land to thousands of mainly landless families, and provided them with title to that land. The Government highly valued its development partners for supporting the work of Cambodia in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Its long-term aim was to free Cambodia from poverty and disease, with all living together in peace and harmony, without discrimination based on gender or religion.

KOJI TSUVUOKA ( Japan) congratulated Cambodia for its track record in bringing the country this far. Bangladesh had also provided the Council with an excellent presentation, showing that it was on track in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Over the past years, Japan had been providing Bangladesh and Cambodia with large amounts of financial aid. But ownership and partnership were even more important. Regarding Africa, Japan mentioned that it was sponsoring a meeting on African development together with the World Bank. Japan wished to add its support of Cape Verde, in advance of the presentation to be made, as its representative had to leave the meeting now.

KIM HAK-SU, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said Cambodia had done remarkably well in recent years, despite some formidable challenges that it had faced. Cambodia had set an example in reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among adults. However, Cambodia still faced many challenges. To address them, it would need sustained development assistance, market access, and significant increase in direct investment. Subregional trade opportunities should also be strengthened.

ZAMIRA ESHMAMBETOVA, Office of the High Representative for Landlocked and Least Developed Countries, said that the Office was pleased that six countries were making voluntary presentations. The Office of the High Representative for Landlocked and Least Developed Countries was working with those countries. They were all different, but also had some things in common. All the stories that the Council had heard were remarkable. It was clear that success was possible where countries had strong ownership of the development process. Successful partnerships with civil society, donors and international organizations were also important. And resource mobilization had also played a role. The latter had been achieved because the countries had decided to diversify and produce high-value goods. However, exogenous factors were jeopardizing the success of some countries, such a landlocked countries where access to the sea was critical. Problems related to climate change were also important challenges.

Mr. CABRAL ( Guinea-Bissau) said Cambodia had come to the Council to share its successes and the challenges it still faced. It was important to recall that Cambodia was being reborn, that it was rising above the ashes of an abominable disaster, which should be recalled by all, so that it never happened again. Cambodia had a long history behind it, and it had played a key role in helping other countries. It was encouraging to see that Cambodia had achieved so much progress, as it showed that other countries could also succeed. Due to the circumstances of the past, Cambodia continued to be a country that received international aid. It was to be hoped that partners and donor countries would be generous vis-à-vis the Khmer people, that everyone made every effort to ensure that they continued on that path, and that Cambodia enjoyed the respect and confidence of the international community.

Mr. CHHAY, Senior Minister for Planning of Cambodia, said that Cambodia wanted to express its thanks for all those who had spoken and who supported Cambodia.

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation of Cape Verde

Mr. BORGES, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde, said with regard to the reduction of poverty and food insecurity in Cape Verde, he was not convinced that those issues could be micro-discussed. Cape Verde was a small country in Western Africa, but it was a country that had to be seen and analysed as an island nation. It was an archipelago of 10 islands, with a fragmented micro-market, a proliferation of infrastructure, and ever-increasing needs for investment for that reason, as well as the cost of maintaining infrastructure. The cost of internal mobility of goods and people was also high.

Cape Verde had a great deal of vulnerability, and had to face vulnerabilities on a number of levels: environmental, economic, and in terms of security. Only 10 per cent of the territory was available as arable land; and rainfall was insufficient, irregular and unpredictable, making farming a difficult activity. There were no natural resources. There was an imbalance between exports and imports. In terms of vulnerability in the area of security, Cape Verde’s location caused it to be subject to various types of trafficking, and the country was concerned with fighting that phenomenon, even though it suffered from a lack of resources. Mr. Borges said that there were three main elements that had been significant in the recent evolution of Cape Verde: an enormous reliance on public aid; the constant pace of development; and the democratic transition in 1990, which had caused the country to enjoy good governance.

Good governance had also led to commitment to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and Cape Verde had put a range of tools in place to implement them. Mr. Borges observed that it was important to simplify the development process – many countries that were still vulnerable and weak institutionally went too far with regard to institutions. In the effort to achieve the MDGs, the Government, civil society and all organizations in Cape Verde were working hard to fight poverty, including at an individual level. People could not be pulled out of poverty: they had to choose to extricate themselves from it, and that should be taken into account when talking about the issue. In that regard, there was a structural element to the food deficit in Cape Verde, due to a lack of local food production. However, it was important to note that some of the Millennium Development Goals had already been achieved such as those regarding education, reduction of infant mortality and health.

JEAN FEYDER ( Luxembourg) said that the presentation made by the Minister of Cape Verde had been very clear, comprehensive, and had showed the great political will of the government of Cape Verde to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Luxembourg wanted to confirm that it was pleased to be among the major partners of Cape Verde. In order to facilitate ownership, Luxembourg decided on a cooperative programme to be as transparent and clear as possible. Priority sectors such as education, health and water had been determined. Also, as a lot of the young people in Cape Verde needed jobs, a comprehensive system had been set up allowing young people to get professional and technical training in order to find a job. Cape Verde might an interesting example for other countries to follow as well.

MOHAMMED OULD TOLBA ( Mauritania) said the Minister of Cape Verde had given an excellent diagnosis of the situation in the country in terms of methodology and content. All were involved in the success of Cape Verde, which had been obvious in terms of good governance. There was a certain parallel between good governance and good results, which was quite apparent. Sectoral, local and national projects had all been excellent, particularly with regard to education. Water resources were also a challenge for Cape Verde, and its success in that area was a lesson for all countries in the region.

Ms. HOUMGBEDJI ( Benin) said Cape Verde was an inspiration for all and showed that the least developed countries could evolve. Benin wanted to revisit Cape Verde in a few years and to see the evolution of that country after it left the list of least developed countries.

Mr. CABRAL (Guinea-Bissau) said it was difficult to resist the temptation of using superlatives with regard to Cape Verde, as it was true that many saw the country as a fine example – a perfect illustration of the determination and efforts of a people that were vulnerable but not resigned. Cape Verde, as the Foreign Minister had pointed out, was a country that was facing numerous difficulties of all sorts, but there was clear proof here of what a people could do when it showed determination, courage, and decided to take its destiny into its own hands. Fighting poverty was mainly a cultural act. Ensuring that social and economic progress became a reality was up to the individual. Cape Verde was very vulnerable in terms of its need to deal with clandestine immigration, which was very dangerous in Africa. European partners should be objective and aware of the situation, in order to provide active support, as Cape Verde would not be able to come up with additional resources from its budget.

HELMUT K. ANGULA ( Namibia) congratulated the Minister of Cape Verde for an excellent presentation. Namibia could see the temptation of the Minister to play down the success story, but here was a case of a very successful story, which needed to be told. Given the limited resources, it was a story of an island State, which could soon be among those such as an example. The most important point was to build the collective responsibility so that the transition could be sustained. Instead of underplaying the success of Cape Verde, one should ask what could be done to sustain it. In particular, the international community should look at the instruments how to sustain this transition.

HENRI RAUBENHEIMER ( South Africa) said there had been a number of good examples given today of how aid worked. Cape Verde had demonstrated how some countries could pull themselves up from their bootstraps. All the presentations had been demonstrative of how the countries had taken primary responsibility for their own development, but of course development remained a partnership that was also contained in the theme for the Ministerial Review. It was hoped in future it would not be reduced to a donor-recipient debate. A number of countries were struggling against global challenges, and future Annual Ministerial Reviews should address those, as the Council was a global forum. Maybe some had been fearful of participating, as it had been suggested that this was to be a peer review, but that was not the case. This was where countries learned, and learned from each other, about what did and did not work. It was not a peer review.

JEROEN STEEGHS ( Netherlands) wished to echo what South Africa had said on global partnerships. The Netherlands had had a great record with such partnerships. It had been a very good day having this part of the high-level segment exchanging views on these topics. Four out of the six countries were partner countries of the Netherlands. The Netherlands was working with 36 developing countries and realized that there were still more countries in need. Cape Verde would remain a partner country of the Netherlands. On the issue of aid effectiveness, the Netherlands wanted to align itself with the procedures that had used by Cape Verde. On the graduation process, the Netherlands noted that there was an interim period and there was a group supporting Cape Verde's transition.

PIRAGIBE DOS SANTOS TARRAGO (Brazil) asked what was the importance or significance of international aid in Cape Verde in the process that had led to its success, and what role had it played? Cape Verde was a graduating nation: what would its international aid needs be, and what were the figures which it foresaw in terms of the country depending on international aid to the extent that it had to date? Finally, Brazil wondered what impact the situation in Cape Verde had had on migration.

HUGH SEALY ( Barbados) said that Barbados respected the ingeniosity of the people of Cape Verde. It was a miraculous achievement. The whole concept of graduation needed to be examined.

RICHARD T. MILLER ( United States) said this had been a remarkably serious presentation of the challenges and achievements of Cape Verde, and there was much that was admirable that had been done. With regard to graduation, that was an area that the United Nations and the international community had not handled very well, perhaps. The point was that there was no wish to punish countries for success. Many attractive policies had been put in place, and it was hoped the transition would be smooth, and take place over time and not abruptly as though it were the result of a statistical achievement. Perhaps in this area the international community did not do enough to find alternative resources, such as aid-for-trade or other investment promotion projects. Development resources were different in that there was a need to look both at need and at effectiveness, and that was not always easy.

Mr. MARQUES ( Portugal) said that Portugal was proud to be a long-standing partner of Cape Verde. Cape Verde was an example that good governance paid. Nevertheless, there were still challenges to be met in the field of food and water shortages, for example. Portugal reaffirmed that it would be there for Cape Verde in the future.

Mr. BORGES, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde, in concluding remarks, thanked all speakers for their compliments. Cape Verde still had a lot of problems: it was a country that could be considered to have succeeded given the extremely pessimistic expectations which it had been faced with. However, it still faced a lot of challenges. Somebody had spoken of examples, and another of lessons. Those words were difficult to accept – Cape Verde should be considered as neither an example nor a lesson. It merely wished to share its experience.

However, with regard to graduation, that was a challenge for the Governments of Cape Verde of today and of the future, as well as for the inhabitants of Cape Verde and the international community, Mr. Borges said. Cape Verde had agreed to graduate before the United Nations had defined the modalities for doing so, and that was therefore a shared responsibility with the international community. Appeals had been made to support Cape Verde’s graduation. Some 90 per cent of the financing for graduation had been financed by external bodies, demonstrating the importance of international aid. Donations were fundamental to keep Cape Verde from falling into debt and to guarantee the sustainability of its development. Cape Verde was in a dynamic of development. Aid had been helpful in Cape Verde. Graduation was an opportunity to draw investors to the country, but for that it required increased public investment.

Cape Verde was committed to returning to the Council in future. It had the responsibility to do so, he said. The development bodies, the Council and the entire United Nations could not disengage itself from the process of graduation of Cape Verde. Read more!

ADB Helps Wire Northwest Cambodia with Thai Electricity

Press Release - Asian Development Bank

June 28 2007

A major electricity shortage in northwest Cambodia, including around the tourism hub of Siem Reap, is being fixed with the help of an $8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to build power lines that will import electricity from neighboring Thailand.

The development will be a boost for the regional economy, not just in tourism but also in agriculture, mining and manufacturing. As demand for power grows, it will also reduce emissions as businesses will not have to invest in new diesel-powered electrical generators.

“This will give the region access to cheaper electricity and a reliable supply,” said Tomas A. Norton de Matos, a Senior Structured Finance Specialist with ADB. “It is also promoting regional cooperation because the electricity will be supplied by Thailand. We worked closely with ThaiExim Bank to enable this project, which also includes trade in Thai equipment and services, to proceed.”

ADB’s Board of Directors agreed on June 27 to loan the money to the (Cambodia) Power Transmission Lines Co. Ltd, a private Cambodian company. The high-voltage grid lines will be the first to be privately owned in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It is the first ADB private sector infrastructure project in Cambodia.

“We are pleased to be investing in Cambodia’s critical transmission infrastructure and to have worked closely with Cambodian and Thailand authorities, and all our partners, in this respect,” said Ly Say Khieng, Chairman and CEO of the company.

Northwest Cambodia, like the rest of the country, suffers from insufficient and unreliable power. There is no national grid and electricity is generated almost exclusively by small diesel plants that generate emissions. This hinders Cambodia’s ability to attract investment and promote sustainable economic activities, which are critical to reducing poverty.

Electricity in Cambodia is among the most expensive in the region because of the disaggregated and isolated small-scale systems.

Siem Reap is home to the famed Angkor Wat temples and is an important and growing tourism center. Many hotels in the area rely on their own power generators. There are similar power shortages in neighboring Battambang, an important agricultural center, and Banteay Meanchey, which supports manufacturing and trading activities.

The 115kV power lines will connect with Thailand’s national grid at the border. They will then run about 221 kilometers mainly alongside National Road 5 and National Road 6 to Siem Reap and Battambang. In addition to connecting the major towns, the new lines will provide opportunities to wire rural communities along the route for electricity.

Work on the project has already started and the first section to Siem Reap is expected to be completed this month or next. The second section to Battambang is scheduled to be completed a couple of months later.

ADB’s $8 million loan will go toward the estimated $32 million total project cost. The balance of funding is being provided through equity, as well as loans from the Export-Import Bank of Thailand and local Cambodian banks. Read more!

Cambodia Town

Ethnic district designation would honor refugees.

There are some understandable concerns being voiced about naming a section of Long Beach Cambodia Town. We have spoken with and received letters from plenty of people who feel that a special designation for Cambodians would be at the expense of blacks, Hispanics and whites who have also hung their shingles along Anaheim Street between Junipero Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard.

While we understand these concerns, we do not see how honoring one group's contributions dishonors anyone else's. The proposal the City Council plans to consider tonight recognizes hardworking refugees who have made homes and built businesses in the central city. It does not do so at the exclusion of any other race or ethnicity.

There are indeed people of all nationalities living and working in Artesia's Little India, L.A.'s Koreatown and any number of Southern California ethnic districts. The same is true for what would become Cambodia Town. Such designations merely call attention to a neighborhood's unique characteristics, but not so at the expense of the other ethnicities.

Ethnic districts can benefit everyone in a neighborhood by drawing tourists and diners, something that worn-out stretch of Anaheim Street could use. We doubt, for example, that Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia would draw so many visitors without Little India, but that doesn't mean the city's sizeable Portuguese and Hispanic populations are invisible to outsiders.

In addition, there is something special in recognizing Cambodian refugees - and their children - who escaped a brutal regime at home before finding the American dream in a welcoming city, Long Beach.

Though there is dissent, the proposal has the unanimous approval of the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee and is being carried by the committee's chairwoman, City Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal. Committee polling found support for a Cambodia Town. Here's a little more. Read more!

Cambodia to introduce safer air route from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville

The Cambodian government will introduce safer route between the kingdom's hottest travel destinations Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, thus reducing the possibility of air crash, local press reported on Tuesday.

Future flights between the two cities will avoid mountainous areas judged to be too dangerous, but the detour will mean flights last twice as long, English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily quoted officials as saying.

It was unclear when any air carrier will begin serving the new route, which is still in the process of mapping, it said.

"The new route is expected to be safer but it needs to detour around the area where we think it isn't safe," said Him Sarun, cabinet chief at the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation.

"We believe the new route will take an hour and a half while the current route is just 45 minutes," he added.

Cambodia's PMT Air Flight U4 241 crashed on June 25 into a Kampot province mountainside en route from Siem Reap and only 51 km from Sihanoukville's Kang Keng Airport. All 22 people aboard were killed.

Tourism is one of the pillar industries of Cambodia. The flight route from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville was just kicked off early this year to further promote the tourist boom.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Life's Walk

They sat in silence.

There was no "Amen" or nervous chatter, just silence. Members of the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship sat in their fabric-covered seats without uttering a sound. Minutes before they had heard from a man who had lived in Cambodia 27 years and had witnessed firsthand the despair of a war-torn country full of starving refugees.

"I went to Cambodia as a joke," said Bob Maat, a Jesuit physicians’ assistant and co-founder of the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation in Cambodia.

There had been a Time Magazine cover of a "starving mother and child from Cambodia," that Maat says haunted him. He kept thinking about that photograph. In jest, he turned to his buddy one day, a student of theology, and said to him, "Frank, we ought to go to Cambodia."

"We went for three months; I stayed 27 years." said Maat, who first stepped foot in Cambodia in 1979.

"Adults and children were starving; it’s life changing when you’ve been with someone who is starving to death; you can’t be the same," Maat said.

There seemed to be a marked sense of sadness that belied the lightness of his tone. His attempt to tone down his weighted speech with jokes seemed to hit a Sunday sermon chord common in steeple settings.

The word "You" is not used in Cambodia, he said, instead people are called who they are such as mother, father, son, daughter, etc.

"I am Grandpa now," Maat said. "A young man came up to me and said, ’Grandpa, do you remember me?’ I had been there 27 years and did not remember him. He says to me, ‘My mother saw you walking down the road and pointed you out to me and told me that you were the foreigner who helped take care of me when I was hungry; you fed me ice cream when I was a baby.’ "

When he wasn’t trying to cure malnutrition, Maat was helping cure Cambodian refugees ravished with tuberculosis. In 1987, he contracted TB and was subsequently cured. He has served as a United Nations protection officer, as well as a rice farmer. Though he’s been stateside a while now, having returned to Cambodia twice, in 1984 and 1994, it seemed that no amount of distance or time would ever separate him from the borders of Cambodia.

"There was a prophecy that once said, ‘There will come a day when darkness will settle over the people of Cambodia. There will be houses with no people in them, roads with no people upon them … there will be no religion. People will live in jungles dressed in black. Only the mute and deaf will survive.’ In 1975, that prophecy came true. There were more bombs dropped in Cambodia than all of WWII. There were 3 million who died between 1975 and 1979. There was a lack of food, lack of medical care and just lack of care altogether."

In 1991, Maat and others started walking for peace in Cambodia. It was known as the Dhammayietra and has since become an annual month-long walk. He says the first Dhammayietra began in the refugee camps along the Thai border.

"We had a lot of obstacles to cross," said Maat, who was born in New York City and graduated from a Jesuit High School in Cleveland, Ohio followed by Emory, where he graduated in 1977 with an oncology degree.

Due to suffocating heat, Maat said walks would begin at 4 a.m.

"We walked with land mines in the ground," he said. "There were 10 million land mines in the ground - more land mines than people. We formed an army of peace. We used bullets of loving kindness. It was a land mine of the heart. Where there was greed, we used the weapon of generosity; where there was hatred, we used the weapon of loving kindness; where there was ignorance, we used the weapon of wisdom. We walked to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful and remove the wrongs of injustice."

It was his relationship with a monk named, Venerable Maha Ghosananda, now deceased, that Maat says transformed his way of thinking.

"He could speak 15 languages, but he spoke best the language of the heart," said Maat of Ghosananda.

Currently, Maat is hopping Greyhound buses traveling the countryside to educate the public about the importance of the Dhammayietra, a walk of hope.

In his closing remarks, Maat looked out over the gathered fellowship and spoke of what the Bible teaches.

"Jesus says to love one another as I first loved you," he said.

And with a soft step, he returned to his seat - to sit in silence.

To help fund the walk of peace in Cambodia, checks should be addressed to Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation in Cambodia or CPR, P.O. Box 60, Bungthong Lang Post Office, Bangkok 10242 Thailand. Read more!

I LEFT PLANET HOLLYWOOD TO HELP THE POOREST KIDS ON THE PLANET

Why ex-movie boss Scott now dedicates his life to charity work

By Annie Brown

TWO days ago as he stood knee deep in the stinking mud of a Cambodian dump, Scott Neeson's life flashed in front of him.

He was once "Mr Hollywood", a movie executive with a mansion, a 36ft yacht and A-list stars on his speed dial.

But four years on and the trappings of wealth are gone.

Scott sacrificed his opulent life to move to Phnom Penh, to set up the Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) in 2003 and help Cambodia's poorest children who lead a grim existence scavenging in Phnom Penh's notorious rubbish dump.

Scott, from Edinburgh, now has 263 children in three facilities, with health care provided by Fiona McLeish, a paediatric nurse from East Kilbride.

And he has just enlisted the help of Sumner Redstone, America's 25th richest man and the media mogul famed for firing Tom Cruise.

However, a couple of days ago on one of his regular visits to the dump, he lost his footing and found himself sinking in to the mire.

Scott said: "The stench was awful. I was knee deep in what I will politely call mud, but wasn't. At that moment I thought of my previous life and my friends who were returning from Cannes while I am trying to scrape muck off my leg with a stick."

He returned to the CCF centre, which now educates, cares for and feeds impoverished children and he was greeted with laughter.

He said: "The kids were edging away from me shouting 'you stink'."

Scott enjoyed a glittering 10-year career in LA as President of 20th Century Fox International and as head of Sony Pictures' international marketing.

He oversaw the releases of such films as Titanic, Star Wars, Braveheart, Independence Day and X-Men.

He was friendly with Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford and even shook hands with Prince Charles at a movie premiere.

Scott, 48, had a house in the Hollywood hills, complete with swimming pool and Cindy Crawford as a neighbour.

He returns to LA about four times a year, but now the importance of Tinseltown is exploiting his connections there for the benefit of the CCF children.

His latest success story is a perfect illustration and brought Redstone to the rescue of Lyda, one of the world's poorest girls.

Media mogul Redstone is worth an estimated £6billion as chief of Viacom, which owns Paramount, CBS and MTV.

Lyda is a 13-year-old girl who has been a CCF child for two years after Scott found her at Steung Meanchey, Phnom Penh's huge garbage dump - a place he describes as "apocalyptic".

She had been abandoned at five and was sleeping on the ground. Like all the children from the dump she was earning a living working 13-hour days from 5am, picking through the garbage for recyclables to sell for pennies.

Scott said: "When I first saw Lyda, she was small, hunched and alone, but she was so loving and had an amazing smile."

A medical check-up at CCF uncovered scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine.

Scott took her to LA after a hospital offered to treat her for free, but was then devastated to be told that the doctors considered it too risky to operate.

But while he was in LA he met up with Sumner who had been asking about CCF and he took Lyda with him.

The billionaire was so taken with her that he got on the phone to the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in LA to which he had just donated Û20million.

Scott said: "Sumner was doing the whole curmudgeon thing, and starts barking out orders and the next thing you know, Lyda is getting the best medical treatment in the whole world."

One of the world's top orthopaedic surgeons, Dr Robert Bernstein, successfully operated and Sumner picked up the Û100,000 tab.

The day after the operation it had straightened Lyda's spine so much she was 5cm taller.

Lyda was released last Monday, a week earlier than expected, and she is now able to walk.

She is staying with friends of Scott and has with her Fiona McLeish who has been working with CCF for a year.

Fiona is the health co-ordinator for CCF and as well as administering first aid at the dump, runs a series of health programmes, not just for the children, but for their families too.

The nurse, who worked at Yorkhill Hospital for Sick Kids, is still in LA with Lyda but will return to Cambodia with her shortly.

She said: "CCF is an amazing organisation. I only planned to stay for three months but as soon as I saw what they were doing, I decided I had to stay on longer.

"The children are wonderful and it makes such a difference to their lives."

AFTER his sojourn to LA, Scott wanted to get back to Cambodia straight away in what he sees as "reality".

He said: "It's nice being safe, they have traffic rules and the chances of getting dysentery are slimmer."

But he added: "After 10 days I get the itch to come back to reality. I miss the kids too much. I would rather be in the back of the truck with the kids than a private jet any day."

While in LA Scott visited a friend in the movie business who was arranging for a private jet to be flown to Europe for a famous actress and the publicist was demanding to know the thread count on the seats.

Scott said: "I really don't miss that at all. It's totally obscene."

After 10 years climbing the corporate ladder, Scott now admits he had lost perspective on the level of wealth which surrounded him.

He now looks back with a more cynical eye.

He said: "I once had a case where there were two actors who were in a film together and they didn't get on.

"We had to send two private jets to fly from LA to Europe because they just wouldn't go together. The cost of the jets and the fuel was ridiculous."

It was on a backpacking holiday through Asia when a stop over in Cambodia changed Scott's life.
He was struck by the terrible poverty and thought that helping the child beggars would be a simple case of giving their families money.

He paid for children's education, bought families furniture and clothes only to discover that when his back was turned they would sell everything and take the children out of school.

He set up the CCF in 2003, providing shelter, food, education, medical care and fun through dancing and art classes.

The children learned the joys of security and simply being children. After trying to juggle a new job at Sony, Scott realised to really make a difference he would have to up sticks and move over to Cambodia.

"So many people in LA think the film industry is all there is," Scott said. "Every day people tell you how lucky you are to have such a great job and have so much money. Eventually, you start to believe the hype.

"It makes it hard to give it up."

But he said the decision was as much for himself as the children "It was fear on my part," he said.

"I didn't want to reach the age of 70 and look back at my life and think 'well, I have had a very successful corporate life'.

That just wouldn't be enough as I want achieve so much more."

So it's no surprise that many in Hollywood thought he had lost his marbles when he quit.

His mother Elizabeth is dead, but his father Colin, from Edinburgh, also thought he was insane.

The 84 year-old had watched his son's rise from a working class boy to millionaire movie executive and couldn't comprehend why he would give it all up.

Scott said: "He thought I was crazy. He hit the roof." It was in Scott's contract with the film company that his father would be flown first-class twice a year from Australia, where he now lives, to visit his son in LA. But Scott's move brought his father's days of flying first class to an halt and instead he was demoted to travelling cattle class on Vietnam airlines.

But when he saw what his son was doing, he was immediately converted.

Scott said: "Now he thinks it's the best thing I have ever done. He sits outside in his little red plastic chair and the kids are all over him.

"It's the best gift I have ever given him. He is at his happiest when he is here."

Since he set up the CCF there have been good days and bad days with one constant - Scott also has never been happier.

To make a donation log on to www.cambodianchildrensfund.org

'I would much rather be in the back of a truck with all the Cambodian kids than in a private jet any day.' Read more!

Fact sheet on Cambodia

THE Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea, is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of almost 15 million people, with Phnom Penh being the capital city.

Cambodia is the successor state of the once-powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries.

A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian" or "Khmer," which strictly refers to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and small animist hill tribes.

The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river (colloquial Khmer: Tonle Thom or "the great river") and the Tonle{aac} Sap ("the fresh water lake"), an important source of fish.

Much of Cambodia sits near sea level, and consequently the Tonle Sap River reverses its water flow in the wet season, carrying water from the Mekong back into the Tonle{aac} Sap Lake and surrounding flood plain.

Cambodia's main industries are garments and tourism. In 2006, foreign visitors had surpassed the 1.7 million mark. In 2005, oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial water, and once commercial extraction begins in 2009 or early 2010, the oil revenues could profoundly affect Cambodia's economy.

Cambodia is the traditional English transliteration, taken from the French Cambodge, while Kampuchea is the direct transliteration, more faithful to the Khmer pronunciation.. Since independence, the official name of Cambodia has changed several times, following the troubled history of the country. Read more!

A plague in paradise

.Sold to a brothel by her family as a toddler, Yorchi Hong Nhea is one of 30,000 sex slaves in Cambodia. Few clients these days are western sex tourists: most are Cambodian men. Three decades after the Khmer Rouge devastated the country, Jon Swain witnesses a surge in violent sexual exploitation.

As dusk falls, the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh is at its most appealing. It is bathed in a soft and purplish evening light. The air is filled with tropical scents. Lovers stroll along the river bank by the old Royal Palace. The visions of Cambodia at peace after years torn by civil war are enchanting.

But the glitter of dusk over the city hides an ugly reality. For all of its exotic charm, Phnom Penh can be a cruel place. It is a city of terrible sexual exploitation and depravity. Between the Independence Monument and the Mekong lies a municipal park where desperate sex slaves - teenage girls - sit on benches selling their bodies.

The park is named the Jardin de Hun Sen after Cambodia's prime minister, whose house overlooks one side of it. Hun Sen has been in power since 1985 and is the longest-serving leader in Asia. But his government has been incapable of stopping Cambodia's multi-million-pound sex business despite periodic crackdowns by the police, who are underpaid and known for their extortion and corrupt ways.

Gary Glitter, the convicted British paedophile, used to live in a house next door to Hun Sen, paying thousands of pounds in rent for the privilege. He is now serving a three-year prison sentence in Vietnam for sexually abusing girls, after being permanently expelled from Cambodia on suspicion of having done the same there.

But the teenage girls who congregate in the park at dusk are not selling sex to western men. Phnom Penh has become dangerous for western paedophiles to operate in. It is full of campaigning and vigilant NGOs seeking to stop underage sex tourism by westerners. More than 100 people actively monitor child sexual abuse in Phnom Penh, and over the years an increasing number of arrests of paedophiles have taken place. The penalties are harsh. One convicted New Zealander is currently serving 20 years in a Cambodian prison for raping five girls. The girls in the garden are mostly selling themselves to Cambodian men on their way home after work.

There are estimated to be 30,000 sex slaves operating today in Cambodia. In Phnom Penh alone, 8,000 girls are working in the sex industry. There are 124 brothels, 83 massage parlours, 56 karaoke bars. In one establishment there are 300 working girls. Perhaps one in three is HIV-positive. Many have been sold into brothels by their families. Many are in their early teens. Some are as young as five years old. So it is that nearly three decades after the end of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, in which 1.7m people died, Cambodia is gripped by another kind of scourge. It is completely different in kind, of course, but it is ruining thousands of young lives. Cambodia is home to some of Asia's most sordid brothels.

The perception held by many concerned people in the West is that the cause of this big explosion in prostitution is sex tourism by western men, who come to southeast Asia to exploit vulnerable young women and children in a poor, underdeveloped country. In Phnom Penh recently I heard an Australian man describe the city as "PPP heaven" - meaning, as he so eloquently phrased it, "pot, piss and pussy". But the perception that western men are the reason for the existence of Cambodia's legion of sex workers is far removed from the wretched reality of what is happening.

When foreigners are engaged in underage sex, the nationalities are predominantly Asian, but the reason the country is awash with prostitution is primarily to service Cambodian men. With millions struggling to live on less than 25p per day, many women turn out of desperation to jobs in the sex industry, and poor parents sell their children when they are five or six for as little as £50. Girls prostitute themselves for £1 a trick, but at least half of this goes to their pimp or the brothel where they work, so they are left with very little themselves. The brothels are mostly tin-roofed wooden shacks with tiny windowless rooms, furnitureless except for a bed with a soiled mattress, with used condoms and cigarette ends on the floor.

The girls at the Jardin de Hun Sen charge a little extra for operating from a more salubrious part of town. Also considered to be a better class of prostitute, they can command higher fees: they are paid £2.50 for sex. Most of the clients are Cambodians, but there are also men who come to Cambodia from other Asian countries, particularly China, Japan and Korea, for whom the pretty, naive Cambodian country girls are playthings to be enjoyed on holiday or to be bought and taken back to their own countries as brides. It's a multi-million-pound industry.

Nobody knows this hard truth and the extent of this prostitution better than Somaly Mam, a 35-year-old Cambodian woman, energetic, doe-eyed with jet-black hair, who leads Afesip (Action for Women in Distressing Situations), an association that rescues girls and young women from the brothels. Born amid the tumult of war, she does not know who her parents are. She was abandoned and raped when she was 12 and two years later was sold off and forced to marry.

Her husband would get drunk, beat and rape her and fire bullets that passed close by her head and feet. When she was 15 she took his gun and shot him in the foot to hurt him as he had hurt her. He then sold her into a brothel, where she had to accept five or six clients a day. One day a client called her and another girl. He said he was with just one other man. In fact there were 20 of them, who abused the girls terribly. Later she married a Frenchman and had three children. Last year she indirectly became a victim of sex slavery a second time when her daughter Ning, 14, was kidnapped, drugged and raped, possibly out of revenge for her mother's work.

When I met Mam in Phnom Penh she was exhausted, having just returned to the capital from trips to Italy and Singapore to publicise the plight of Cambodian women in the brothels, and a gruelling 10-hour road journey from Pailin, a remote and squalid town in the far west of Cambodia which was once a Khmer Rouge stronghold and is now paradoxically a centre of pornography, prostitutes and gambling.

Though wearied by the travelling, she insisted on setting off almost immediately to visit the girls in her main refuge in the countryside, a three-hour drive away, where former sex workers attend school and learn skills like weaving and sewing so that they can earn a living outside the brothel.

She had received news that a six-year-old girl, along with her sister, had been sold into a brothel. The girl, later rescued, had developed full-blown Aids and was now dying. When we arrived, the little girl's face lit up at the sight of Mam, whom she had been crying out for. She put out her arms and hugged her. "I haven't seen her and the other girls for a month," Mam said.

"It is too long. Many of these girls are orphans or have been sold by their parents and I am their mother. They did not have a childhood, and I am trying to give back what they lost."

Here is Chim Chanry, who at the age of seven was raped by her uncle while she slept at her brother's house. When she revealed what had happened to her brother, he tried to kill her with a knife. Rejected by her family after the incident, she was sold into a brothel by her sister. 'she has never been home," said Mam.

Here is Keo, a 15-year-old orphaned Vietnamese girl who lived with her stepmother, who sold her via Cambodia into a brothel over the border in neighbouring Thailand. The brothel-keeper sold her on to another brothel, where she lived off a packet of noodles a day. When she became sick, the owner beat her and tortured her with electric shocks. Rescued by a Thai sister organisation of Mam's organisation Afesip, she does not know who her parents are or where they live. Still today, months after her rescue, her eyes are expressionless, dead, the eyes of someone who has borne the unbearable.

Here, too, is one of two sisters who was sold to a brothel by her mother when she was five - nobody knows how much for. She was drugged and beaten, passed from man to man, until she was rescued by Afesip and brought to the centre. How is she doing, I ask. Mam pauses. 'she is HIV-positive," Mam says. "We are going to make her life as comfortable as possible until she dies. It breaks the heart."

Also there is a little orphan girl. Her mother, a prostitute, had arrived at the centre covered in blood. She had been mutilated by a client who was trying to take out her unborn baby to offer it to the temple to bring him good luck. Horribly injured, her mother died while giving birth and the little baby was brought up by another former prostitute who had a baby of the same age.

These are just a few of the examples of the 45 girls at the Kompong Cham centre learning a new life. Being in Mam's care, they are the luckier ones. For every girl Afesip saves, there are dozens more who suffer in silence and isolation.

Prostitution and underage sex are nothing new in Cambodia. The great Chinese traveller Chou Ta-Kuan, who was an emissary to the kingdom of Angkor, describes on his travels through Cambodia in the 13th century the pinnacle of Khmer civilisation: the deflowering of young girls in a religious ceremony. Still today in the countryside, parents take their daughters to the monastery around the age of 14 to be deflowered by the head monk.

It is meant to bring good fortune. There is another reason why very young girls are in demand in Cambodia: as virgins they are thought through intercourse to cure Aids.

Ta-Kuan also described how the king had four to five thousand women in his palace, and even in modern times there is no law governing the number of young concubines the kings of Cambodia may have. Famously, in 1951, when he was 29 and already had four concubines and 10 children, Cambodia's playboy King Norodom Sihanouk took Monique Izzi, a half-Italian, half-Cambodian beauty, as his fifth concubine when she was only 16. They quickly had two children.

One of the great charms of Cambodia was that its people were pleasure-seeking and insouciant and lived simple, natural lives revolving around the family, Buddhist festivals and the rhythm of the seasons.

Perhaps that is too idealistic. Behind the enigmatic Khmer smile there were always undercurrents of violence, which exploded into the open finally with the war and the savagery of the Khmer Rouge. But the country's cultural values have been warped since by unbridled greed, consumerism and massive exploitation.

I well remember what a Cambodian foreign-ministry official said to me as Cambodia struggled to get back on its feet in the 1980s after the Khmer Rouge tyranny which had turned the clock in Cambodia back to Year Zero.

"Go and tell your investor friends that Cambodia is like a beautiful woman lying on her back with her legs open waiting to be taken," Chum Bun Rong said.

How true in every context this is. Sexual slavery has got such a strong grip on Cambodia now that defeating it is almost impossible. It is spreading like a cancer, and a new phenomenon that Mam and others combating the sex trade find particularly virulent and disturbing is the accompanying terrible rise in sexual violence.

Prior to 1990 there were no words for gang rape in the Khmer language. It did not exist. Now young Cambodians have invented the word bauk for it. Gang rape has become the norm in urban youth culture. Why exactly this is so, nobody knows, but the spread of violent pornographic films that are constantly playing in some local bars is thought to be part of the reason. In Phnom Penh the other day an old Indochina hand said to me: "Call Cambodia paradise and kiss it goodbye." Read more!

Australian cop to face drug charge and other crimes

A RUNAWAY former Victorian detective accused of armed robbery and drug trafficking while working for the National Crime Authority was extradited from Cambodia yesterday.

James Anthony McCabe was flown back to Australia under guard despite the absence of a formal extradition treaty between the two countries.

Mr McCabe, 38, faces charges in New South Wales, but has also been linked to drug trafficking allegations in Victoria.

He was accused of selling heroin to a police informer during the trial last year of Ian Ferguson, a jailed former member of the Victoria Police drug squad.

The first allegations against Mr McCabe emerged in 2004 while he was in Cambodia and about to be presented with a medal for helping to fight that country's drug war.

But by this month Cambodia decided to order him to leave the country after considering information provided to Cambodia's Prime Minister by the NSW Police Integrity Commission.

He was arrested in Phnom Penh a week ago.

Mr McCabe is believed to have a wife and child in Cambodia, where he has been working in the security industry.

Two PIC investigators went to Phnom Penh this week to escort Mr McCabe to Australia.

He was remanded in custody in Sydney yesterday and is due to apply for bail next week.

Mr McCabe resigned from the Victoria Police as a senior detective in 2004 after 15 years' service.

He was seconded to the NCA and the Australian Crime Commission between 1999 and 2003.

Mr McCabe was implicated during PIC hearings by a NSW detective who admitted stealing ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis during phony arrests of drug dealers.

Det-Sgt Samuel John Foster, who since pleaded guilty to criminal charges and is awaiting sentencing, told the commission that NCA and ACC cars were used in the rip-offs, and on one occasion an NCA firearm was used.

Mr McCabe admitted during one PIC hearing he had been involved in a $36,000 drug rip-off while working for the NCA.

But he denied holding a gun to a drug dealer's head while pretending to arrest him in another rip-off where 1kg of amphetamines worth $120,000 was stolen. Read more!

ADB helps wire Northwest Cambodia

Manila, Philippines - A major electricity shortage in northwest Cambodia, including around the tourism hub of Siem Reap, is being fixed with the help of an $8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to build power lines that will import electricity from neighboring Thailand.

The development will be a boost for the regional economy, not just in tourism but also in agriculture, mining and manufacturing. As demand for power grows, it will also reduce emissions as businesses will not have to invest in new diesel-powered electrical generators.

“This will give the region access to cheaper electricity and a reliable supply,” said Tomas A. Norton de Matos, a Senior Structured Finance Specialist with ADB. “It is also promoting regional cooperation because the electricity will be supplied by Thailand. We worked closely with ThaiExim Bank to enable this project, which also includes trade in Thai equipment and services, to proceed.”

ADB’s Board of Directors agreed on June 27 2007 to loan the money to the (Cambodia) Power Transmission Lines Co. Ltd, a private Cambodian company. The high-voltage grid lines will be the first to be privately owned in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It is the first ADB private sector infrastructure project in Cambodia.

“We are pleased to be investing in Cambodia’s critical transmission infrastructure and to have worked closely with Cambodian and Thailand authorities, and all our partners, in this respect,” said Ly Say Khieng, Chairman and CEO of the company.

Northwest Cambodia, like the rest of the country, suffers from insufficient and unreliable power. There is no national grid and electricity is generated almost exclusively by small diesel plants that generate emissions. This hinders Cambodia’s ability to attract investment and promote sustainable economic activities, which are critical to reducing poverty.

Electricity in Cambodia is among the most expensive in the region because of the disaggregated and isolated small-scale systems.

Siem Reap is home to the famed Angkor Wat temples and is an important and growing tourism center. Many hotels in the area rely on their own power generators. There are similar power shortages in neighboring Battambang, an important agricultural center, and Banteay Meanchey, which supports manufacturing and trading activities.

The 115kV power lines will connect with Thailand’s national grid at the border. They will then run about 221 kilometers mainly alongside National Road 5 and National Road 6 to Siem Reap and Battambang. In addition to connecting the major towns, the new lines will provide opportunities to wire rural communities along the route for electricity.

Work on the project has already started and the first section to Siem Reap is expected to be completed this month or next. The second section to Battambang is scheduled to be completed a couple of months later.

ADB’s $8 million loan will go toward the estimated $32 million total project cost. The balance of funding is being provided through equity, as well as loans from the Export-Import Bank of Thailand and local Cambodian banks. Read more!

Briton cleared of child sex abuse in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian court cleared a 42-year-old Briton on Friday of sexually abusing two boys aged 12 and 14 after they withdrew their allegations against him.

Paul Ian Bower, who was working as an English teacher in the impoverished southeast Asian nation, was cleared of all charges after the two boys told the court Bower "did not do anything".

Child sex in Cambodia, which is trying hard to rid itself of its reputation as a haven for paedophiles and perverts, carries a jail term of between 10 and 20 years.

Bower was arrested in January at his rented Phnom Penh home and had to spend six months in detention while investigating judges probed the charges. At Friday's hearing, he appeared to be shivering and in poor health.

On being cleared, he said: "Justice is done". Read more!

Unesco delays Preah Vihear heritage listing

The UN cultural watchdog has delayed a decision on whether to add the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple to the World Heritage list for another year, a Thai official said yesterday. The decision was made at a meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Heritage Committee in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Cambodian government had applied for the second time to have the temple, located on the Thai-Cambodian border, classified as a World Heritage Site. The first application was made three years ago.

The heritage committee prefered that Thailand and Cambodia apply together to register the site next year, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.

Unesco simply wanted Thailand and Cambodia to settle certain issues and together table the registration to its meeting next year.

''Thailand does not oppose the registration of Preah Vihear on Unesco's list, Mr Tharit said.

''We agree in principle that the temple be named a World Heritage Site.''

The two countries did differ on how it should be made a heritage site.

Previously, the National Committee on the Convention for the Protection of World Culture and Natural Heritage expressed concern over Cambodia's lobbying of Unesco without Thailand's participation.

The committee said consideration should be given to the whole site, not just the part of it on Cambodian soil. The entrance to Preah Vihear is in Si Sa Ket province, right on the border with Cambodia.

The location was the cause of a long-standing dispute over the site's ownership until 1962, when the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Tharit dismissed reports of a move to stir up nationalistic sentiment in Cambodia that might end in a new round of anti-Thai riots.

Both sides ''have learned a lesson'' from the 2003 riots in which Thai interests in Phnom Penh were looted and burned down. Read more!

Vietnam to build rail to Cambodia, Laos

Vietnam is planning to invest US$527.5 million in building two railways that will link the country with Cambodia and Laos, an industry official said Wednesday.

The projects are part of a scheme to construct trans-Asia railway networks connecting Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries, reported the Vietnam Railway Department.

No details on when the railways would be constructed were given.

An official with Vietnam Railways Corp. said the first railway will link Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh, and the second railway will link Quang Binh province in central Vietnam to Savanakhet city in central Laos.

The 130 km, VND3.91 trillion ($280.5 million) Sai Gon-Loc Ninh route to Cambodia will be built by the Vietnam Railway Department, the China Mechanical Equipment Import Export Corporation and the China Railway Construction Corporation.

The other 120 km line linking Vung Ang with Mu Gia in the central Ha Tinh province to Laos requires investment of over VND4.52 trillion ($247 million).

The railways are expected to promote trade and transport cooperation among Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos as well as between the whole Indochina region and the rest of Asean and China. Read more!

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia join forces to develop tourism

VietNamNet Bridge – Cambodia's Siem Reap and the Lao provinces of Luang Prabang and Champasak will sign an agreement on tourism cooperation with central Vietnam's Quang Nam Province.

Dinh Hai, director of Quang Nam's Department of Tourism, told the Daily that the tourism authorities of Siem Reap, Luang Prabang, Champasak and Quang Nam would sign the deal on the sidelines of a tourism festival.

The four-day Quang Nam - Heritage Road Festival 2007 kicked off on Wednesday in the World Heritage-listed town of Hoi An.

The four provinces, Hai said, will jointly market tourism products and promote their World Heritage sites. "We have special tourist attractions - World Heritage sites, so we want to join hands to introduce them to attract tourists," he said.

The UNESCO-recognized World Heritage sites are Hoi An and My Son in Quang Nam, Luang Prabang and Wat Phou in Luang Prabang, and Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

These provinces will create favorable conditions for travel firms to meet together, arrange familiarization trips and carry out other activities, Hai said.

Earlier, his department had signed a similar deal with the tourism authority of Champasak.

Hai said tens of thousands of tourists, mostly locals, were expected to visit the Quang Nam - Heritage Road Festival.

"June is the low season for the province's tourism sector with an average room occupancy rate of 40% but hotels in the province have just reported occupancy of 70-80%," he said. Read more!

AIDS-infected people in Cambodia decreases half in 2006: official

Cambodia gained 70,000 AIDS- infected people in 2006, which decreased by half from the figure in 2003, a senior health official said on Thursday.

Cambodia is very proud of this result, said Mom Bun Heng, secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Health, while addressing an AIDS seminar in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian government could now provide the delaying-life medicine for 20,000 AIDS-infected people, including 2,000 children, he said.


The government's budget for AIDS prevention in 2007 stands two times higher than 2006, while the disease is spreading from urban areas to rural areas.

Cambodia is one of the worst-hit countries in the region in the field of AIDS spread. In 1997, its infection rate ran at 3.3 percent of its population.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Dengue deaths sweeping Cambodia highlight healthcare failures

KROUCH CHHMAR VILLAGE - Saing Ratha lies semi-conscious, her thin body shaking with fever as her mother tries desperately to cool her by placing blocks of ice under her arms.

Her 10-year-old bother Saing Sokun lies curled around a block of ice next to her in this spartan rural clinic.

Both have been struck down by dengue fever that has killed almost as many children in the first six months of this year as during the whole of 2006 in an outbreak that is expected to worsen with an early monsoon.

"In my village every house has been afflicted by dengue -- in some homes all the children are sick," says the children's mother, Chhiv Thy, as she wipes down the 13-year-old girl's body with wet towels.

For five days they have lain on crude wooden beds in a small alcove off one of the clinic's wings. Saline drips are tied to metal posts and the windowsill next to their cots is piled high with cooking pots and dirty plates.

Chhiv Thy says she has not worked since bringing her children to hospital. The medical care is free, and good, but the beds cost 30,000 riels (7.50 US dollars) each.

Since January some 7,655 Cambodian children under the age of 15 have been hospitalised with dengue, with 109 of them succumbing to the mosquito-borne illness, which punishes its victims with fever, vomiting and crippling muscle pain.

The most serious cases result in heavy bleeding as blood vessels disintegrate, and can quickly kill children.

Compared to last year's total of 6,149 cases and 158 deaths, "this year is much worse," said Ngan Chantha, director in the health ministry's dengue programme.

Doctor Un Sam Ath gestures up and down the bare hallways of the Krouch Chhmar clinic, saying that only a few days before they had been crowded end-to-end with beds and sick children.

Since May Krouch Chhmar referral hospital has received 20 dengue cases.

"Much more than 2006, when we had five cases total for the whole year," he says.

Two children have died. Un Sam Ath says he wanted to send them to the provincial hospital in Kompong Cham city, about three hours down a dirt road pitted with deep muddy holes.

"But their families were too poor to afford the trip. We have no ambulance and transport is a problem," he explains.

"We are so worried about the coming months -- parents are always waiting too long to bring their children to our hospital. By the time they arrive they have already fallen in a coma," Un Sam Ath says.

Those who can afford transportation to Kompong Cham will be okay, "but what about the poor?" he says.

The outbreak, which has stretched several hospitals in the capital Phnom Penh to capacity, highlights the many failures of Cambodia's health system, which like all of its public institutions is struggling after years of civil war and neglect.

"The total level of public financing for health is simply too low," the World Bank said in its 2007 equality and development report, which found that rural Cambodians still lacked significant access to healthcare.

The government spent only four dollars per person on health expenditures in 2006, the World Bank said, while Cambodian health officials admit that paediatric care is especially thin.

"We have not enough health care services for children -- it is still at a limited level," says Mam Bun Heng, a secretary of state with the health ministry.

A lack of basic health knowledge is also particularly deadly for uneducated rural Cambodians like many of those seeking help in Krouch Chhmar.

This combination has left Cambodia woefully unprepared for the current dengue outbreak.

"People's understanding of sanitation is still very low," Mam Bun Heng says. "We are educating them," but about three million dollars will be needed to fight yearly outbreaks of dengue.

Despite massive public education campaigns already warning people of dengue fever, Un Sam Ath said most people simply tune out the radio and television spots offering advice on how to combat the illnesses.

"People just want to watch the other programmes," he says.

"They need to understand more about this problem. Dengue fever outbreaks spread very quickly, and many people don't know how it spreads." - AFP/ra

Read more!

S. Korean bank to operate in Cambodia next month

The first commercial bank funded by South Korean investors will begin operations in Phnom Penh next month, with unusual banking services on offer, local newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea said on Thursday.

Camko Bank, which is in the family of Camko City, a 2 billion U. S. dollar South Korean housing project to construct a satellite city on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, will become operational late July, the report quoted a Camko City official as saying.

With capital from its parent bank in South Korea, Busan Bank, Camko Bank will provide a variety of "unprecedented" banking services such as loans, VIP services and savings, according to the official.

Different from commercial banks currently operating in Cambodia, Camko Bank will provide among other things a lending service that borrowers don't have to repay the principal, but only the interest, said the official, who declined to elaborate on the issue.

According to the official, Camko Bank will play a main role in the future stock market in Cambodia.

The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has been assisting the Cambodian government to set up a stock exchange market in Cambodia, which is expected to start in 2009.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

"Cambodia: land, people and cultural tradition" exhibition

VietNamNet Bridge – An exhibition themed "Cambodia: land, people and cultural tradition" was launched on Tuesday at the HCMC Exhibition House, 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

The exhibition features 70 pictures and items representing images of the beautiful country of Cambodia, the friendly relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia, and the art of Cambodian sculptures and handicrafts.

Guests can see pictures of famous landscapes and temples of Cambodia, as well as view other sculptural objects made from wood, copper, silver and granite.

In addition, there are traditional paintings of the royal palace and ancient temples which are still well preserved thanks to special materials from tree roots, leaves and grains found by the Cambodian ancients.

Some of the traditional costumes of the Cambodian, such as wedding costumes and the handicraft works are also displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition is a part of the Cambodian Culture Week that was jointly organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information in HCMC and the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Soc Trang from June 25 to June 30.

Read more!

Cambodia approves anti-terror laws

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian lawmakers have approved phone tapping and computer hacking as part of a broader anti-terrorism package, reports said Wednesday.

Parliament unanimously passed the new 111-article anti-terror law on Tuesday in a bid to better protect the country’s ports and combat militant funding.

The legislation, which was written with assistance from Australia and funding from Britain, allows prosecutors and investigating judges to monitor telephone calls and access computer systems. Secretary of State for the Justice Ministry Hy Sophea was quoted in local media as saying the law “shows to all that Cambodia is not a refuge for terrorists.”

Others warned, however, that the law could be used to further political agendas. The anti-terror legislation follows a similar law passed in April to fight money laundering amid fears that Cambodia’s nascent banking sector could be used to fund terror groups.

Cambodia has emerged as an enthusiastic ally in the US’ “war on terror,” and has been praised by Washington for its efforts, most notably the 2004 prosecution of several people accused of being members of the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Read more!

Plane Crash Prompts Concerns on Dodgy Travel Packages

Questions about the safety of discount package tours to Southeast Asia and China are on the rise following Monday's fatal plane crash in Cambodia.
According to the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the number of Koreans who traveled to Southeast Asian countries more than doubled from 3.32 million in 2000 to 7.32 million in 2005. The number of travelers to Cambodia, famous for its Angkor Wat historical ruins, increased 15-fold during that period, from 2,046 to 33,072.

With tourism booming in Southeast Asia, some travel agencies are offering discount package tours in a bid to attract customers. While the victims of the accident each paid W599,000 (US$1=W938) for what was intended to be a six-day, four-night Cambodia trip, similar packages can be had for around W270,000 in some places.

In order to offer those bargain-basement prices the agencies sometimes contract with transportation companies that use older buses or planes, and that is becoming a threat to the safety of tourists.
Still, the accident seems to have persuaded few Korean tourists from traveling to Southeast Asia. Three hundred people on Tuesday canceled trips to Cambodia with Hanatour Service, the agency that put the tourists on the plane that crashed. But many tourists booked with other travel agencies left according to schedule.

In order to fill plane seats that they have already booked, travel agencies offer cut-rate tours during the low-demand season, up to one third the price of tours in the high season. Depending on the season, the price of a five-day, three-night tour to Cambodia can vary from around W300,000 to W1.1 million.

Some travel agencies offer tours including food, accommodation and local travel for less than the cost of the plane ticket, but travelers often end up complaining of hidden fees and disappointing tours.

"Choi" paid a local travel agency W500,000 for a five-day, three-night golf trip to Thailand in July of last year, but later filed a case with the Korea Consumer Protection Board requesting for compensation.

"I couldn't get to sleep at the hotel I stayed in the first night because of the noise, and a 'shrimp and pork barbecue' that was supposed to be provided as a special meal was not there. I had a car accident on the way to the airport on the last day and arrived late. The guide didn't direct me through the departure procedures, and I barely got on plane," Choi complained.

Tourism insiders warn that more fatal accidents could happen as agencies are booking cheap airlines to lower their costs.

"Many of the cheap packages to Southeast Asia that are currently on sale are on airplanes that are in poor condition," an official in the tourism industry said. "Because there's a lack of substitute planes, only one or two planes transport all the passengers, and in some cases small airlines with just a few years of domestic flying experience are operating on international routes."
Read more!

All 22 people killed in Cambodia crash

PHNOM DAMREY, Cambodia — Search teams reached the site of a plane crash on a remote Cambodian mountain Wednesday and said all 22 people on board were killed.

A helicopter spotted the wreckage about 1,640 feet up Phnom Damrey — Elephant Mountain — in southern Cambodia, ending a two-day search through treacherous jungle and monsoon weather by 1,000 soldiers and police.

The Russian-made An-24 plane crashed during a storm Monday while flying to the southern coastal town of Sihanoukville. It had taken off from Siem Reap, the country's main tourist hub and site of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

Thirteen South Korean and three Czech tourists were on board, along with five Cambodian airline employees and the Uzbek crew chief, officials said.

"This is a tragedy no one should have to experience," Prime Minister Hun Sen said at a news conference in Kampot province, where the plane went down.

More than a dozen family members of the South Korean passengers had traveled to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, late Tuesday to await news of their relatives.

The bodies were being flown to Phnom Penh for identification, said Nhim Vanda, a vice chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management.

Sith Sakal, head of security at Cambodia's Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the plane's flight data recorder had been retrieved and would be sent to Russia for analysis.

At the crash site, a woman's purse and some shoes lay strewn amid the blue and white plane parts.

"I just felt greatly heartbroken to see the bodies," said Horn Ratha, a Cambodian army helicopter pilot involved in the search effort.

The plane was operated by PMT Air, a small Cambodia airline that began flights in January from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, a new route launched to spur the country's burgeoning tourism industry.

Sar Sareth, the airline's director, said Tuesday that he did not know what year the crashed plane was built, but that it was in "good condition" before taking off from Siem Reap.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the storm was likely to blame for the crash, rather than technical problems.

South Korean aviation authorities will hold safety inspections on PMT Air and six other foreign airlines in the coming days, said an official with the South Korean Civil Aviation Safety Authority. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

PMT Air has six roundtrip flights a week between Siem Reap and the South Korean cities of Incheon and Busan, according to the airline's Web site.

The last major air accident in Cambodia was in 1997, when a Vietnam Airlines TU-134B crashed while trying to land during a rainstorm at Phnom Penh International Airport, killing more than 60 people. Read more!

Official: No Survivors in Cambodia Crash

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, shakes hands with Shin Hyun-suk, South Korean Ambassador to Cambodia before a meeting at Kampot province's headquarters, some 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Cambodia's prime minister said Tuesday a passenger plane likely crashed into a mountain and expressed little hope for survivors, just a day after the flight between two of the country's most popular tourist destinations went missing. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (Heng Sinith - AP)

The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 26, 2007; 10:36 PM


KAMPOT, Cambodia -- Search teams confirmed Wednesday there were no survivors from a plane that crashed in southern Cambodia with 22 people aboard, including South Korean and Czech tourists, officials said.

The Russian-made An-24 aircraft operated by PMT Air crashed Monday during a storm while flying between Siem Reap _ site of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex _ and Sihanoukville on the southern coast.

"All have died. It is confirmed," Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.

Sixteen South Korean and three Czech tourists were on board, as well as five Cambodian airline employees and a Russian co-pilot, officials said.

A helicopter spotted the crash site for the first time early Wednesday morning after some 1,000 soldiers and police mounted an urgent two-day search by land and air through treacherous jungle in rainy monsoon weather.

The plane's wreckage was high on a forested mountain northeast of Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, according to provincial Deputy Governor Khoy Khun Huor, who said he saw the crash site from a helicopter. He said the wreckage did not appear to have been on fire.

"The immediate step to be taken is to clear some forest for access," he said. "Helicopters now cannot land close to it."

All rescue teams have now been ordered to rush to the crash site, said Nhim Vanda, first vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management.

More than a dozen family members of some of the South Korean passengers arrived in Phnom Penh from Seoul late Tuesday to await news of the fate of their relatives.

Ly Thuch, a disaster management official, said the Cambodian government will pay for their accommodation while they are in the country.

PMT Air is a small Cambodia airline that began flights in January from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, a new domestic route launched by the government to spur the country's burgeoning tourism industry.

Sar Sareth, the airline's director, said Tuesday that he did not know what year the crashed plane was built, but added that it was in "good condition" before taking off from Siem Reap on Monday.

"It was always in compliance with flight technical and safety procedures. But we cannot say anything yet (about the cause) because information is on the flight recorder," he said.

Read more!