The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided some 10 million U.S. dollars of loan in the past years to empower the fishery communities in the Tonle Sap Lake area, officials said Monday.
"We got about 2 million U.S. dollars (in revenues) from fresh water fish products each year from the lake," partially as result of the help from ADB, said Nao Thouk, director of fisheries department of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Thanks to years of consistent development with the help of ADB, an average family in the Tonle Sap Lake area can now catch some 600 kg to 800 kg of fish each year and over 1 million people directly benefit from the lake, he said on the sidelines of a national forum on the development of the Tonle Sap Lake.
The forum was organized by ADB and the Cambodian government and attended by about 300 people, including diplomatic corps and top government officials.
Also at the forum, C. Lawrence Greenwood, deputy president of ADB, said that Cambodians' fortunes depend on the lake's reliable ebb and flow and it provides the daily sustenance and livelihood for over 1 million people, many of them among the poorest in the kingdom.
According to official statistics, the lake area boasts about 200 kinds of fish, 42 kinds of reptiles, 225 species of birds, 44 types of mammals and 200 kinds of plants.
Source: Xinhua
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
ADB has offer USD 10 million for fishery development in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake
Cambodian leader warns that development poses threat to great lake
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's prime minister warned Monday that increasing population and over-exploitation of fisheries and wildlife pose a dire threat to his country's Tonle Sap, or "Great Lake," the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
"The lake is facing a serious threat of over-exploitation and its ecosystem has become quite fragile," Prime Minister Hun Sen said at a national forum on the Tonle Sap held in Phnom Penh.
"Honestly, if this problem is not addressed decisively and soon enough, Cambodia could face a serious environmental disaster," he warned.
He said the clearing of nearby forest land for large-scale agriculture is resulting in the seepage of fertilizer and pesticides into the lake, creating serious environmental problems.
Tonle Sap is 200 kilometers (120 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh and touches six provinces.
Hun Sen said the lake's basin is home to about 4 million of Cambodia's 14 million people, and that about 40 percent of the country's population derive some benefit from its resources.
The lake harbors a rich biosphere of more than 200 species of fish, 42 types of reptiles, 225 species of birds and 46 kinds of mammals.
C. Lawrence Greenwood, vice president of the Asian Development Bank, said weak governance, severe poverty and social inequity, and conflicts over management of fisheries and natural resources pose serious threats to the lake's ecosystem and the livelihoods of people who depend on it.
"The great lake provides daily sustenance and livelihoods for over 1 million people, many of whom are among the poorest in Cambodia," Greenwood said at the seminar.
Tonle Sap covers approximately 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres) during the dry season and expands to about 1.25 million hectares (3 million acres) during the rainy season..
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Children's drawings depich deforestation in Cambodia
PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., March 5, 2007 -- About 100 Cambodian schoolchildren have called on Khmer government authorities to put an end to illegal, widespread deforestation near their school district, 70 kilometers from the capital, Phnom Penh. The children ages 10 to 16, attend primary school in the Kompong Speu Oral District, which borders on a wildlife sanctuary.
The Voice of America’s Khmer Service reports the children have sent authorities scores of drawings and cartoons depicting the destruction: men wielding axes, chain saws, and machetes, felling trees, stripping the land clean, and killing elephants and other wildlife.
VOA’s Khmer Service has posted a sampling of the drawings on its web site: http://www.voanews.com/khmer/2007-02-28-voa2.cfm
Authorities in Cambodia say the drawings exaggerate the extent of damage being done to the environment. Officials report only a few cases of illegal logging by poachers.
Villagers tell the Voice of America that the children’s illustrated accounts are accurate, adding that the poachers carry machine guns and are members of the armed forces. Many adults and children have submitted petitions to government and non-government agencies asking them to end the destruction.
For more information on the Voice of America Khmer service, which broadcasts live to Cambodia 90 minutes every day, visit: www.voanews.com/khmer.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages.
For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at 202-203-4959 or E-Mail publicaffairs@voa.gov.
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Brunei win 2 top places in meeting of teachers
Brunei's representatives to the Microsoft Regional Innovative Teacher's Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia won first and third places.
The event is a worldwide initiative to empower schools to increase student learning through teacher development and leadership. It was organised in partnership with UNESCO Asia Pacific and Microsoft under the flagship Partners in Learning (PiL) programme.
The representatives were led by Cikgu Hj Yussof bin Hj Metassim, Senior Education Officer from the ICT Department, Ministry of Education, Cikgu Mohd Zamri bin Hj Ismail of Sayyidina Hasan Secondary School and Cikgu Ismail bin Hj Julaihi of PAP Hjh Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Secondary School.
Cikgu Ismail's group won first place with the project Sim Angkor. Cikgu Zamri's group won third place with the project More Water.
They went on a one-day field trip to the world heritage site of Angkor Wat. They collaborated on a project where teachers from different countries developed specific teaching / learning materials based on their field trip.
More than 150 teachers and 100 senior government and education officials from 22 countries attended the conference.
The innovative teacher's programme helps educators further their professional development, learn from and inspire one another in promoting the creation of exemplary practices, awards software grants, and gives educators access to online learning communities.
It brings together a community of teachers as learners, facilitate the creation of collective knowledge, create a platform for the advancement of best practices and adoption of innovation, provide training and access to technology resources, and deliver integration confidence to teachers using technology in the learning process.
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Canada and Cambodia, co-hsot an international mine conference
PHNOM PENH, Mar 5, 2007. The Cambodia Mine Action Authority and the Embassy of Canada announced that they are to co- host an international mine action conference in Phnom Penh from March 12 to 14, a press release said here on Monday.
The dire consequences that landmines have on a country's economic and social development will be a significant topic of discussion during the conference, which entitled "Mine Action: Implications for Peace and Development", the press release said.
Delegates from across Southeast Asia, as well as participants from Europe and the Middle East will join a range of men and women from Cambodia's mine action community at the conference to discuss experiences of mine-affected states, the needs of survivors and international cooperation on mine action, it added.
"Cambodia's experience proves that focused efforts and resources can make a real deference," Sok An, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and First President of the Cambodia Mine Action Authority, said, adding that the number of victims of mine accidents in Cambodia dropped in 2006.
"Cambodia has a responsibility to share with other mine- affected countries its lessons learned in eradicating landmines," Sok An was quoted as saying.
This event is one of many world-wide events to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty, the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines, the press release said.
Since 1997, Canada has contributed over 225 million U.S. dollars to mine action worldwide, including a recent pledge for Cambodia of over 6 million U.S. dollars, according to Donica Pottie, Canada's Ambassador to Cambodia.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Thailand: Thai border with Vietnam in less than 100 years
Thailand is the biggest threat to Cambodia in the future. And what is going to happen? There had been 60 years for Thailand building up its military muscle with Tanks, machine guns, war planes, fighter jets, missiles and it is ready for the battle at any time.
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Cambodia premier warns politicos against land grabbing
Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen criticized his party members for land grabbing during an internal meeting of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), according to a statement received Sunday.
The statement and sources close to the ruling party said Hun Sen had warned the senior CPP members to desist from land grabbing and other abuses of power.
He also removed the former governor of north-eastern Ratanakiri province, Kham Khoeun, from the party's central committee. Khoeun was recently sentenced in absentia to 17 years in prison by a Cambodian court for his conviction of involvement in a 2004 illegal logging scandal in a protected area of the province.
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, a former Khmer Rouge cadre member who defected to Vietnam and returned as a member of the nucleus that overthrew that regime in 1979, was promoted to become a party Permanent Committee member at the same meeting, the statement said, as was Constitutional Council president Bin Chhin.
Chhin led a recent delegation to neighbouring Vietnam aimed at building Cambodian government expertise in clarifying legal documents such as land titles, solving election disputes and fighting government corruption.
The 30-member Permanent Committee is pivotal in formulating party policy.
CPP sources said Hun Sen has grown increasingly impatient with party members who abuse their positions to take land from poor rural villagers and that at least one senior military official has already been forced to give land back to the government.
Donors, rights workers and political analysts have warned that if the problem is not solved, it could disenfranchise CPP supporters in the party's heartland rural areas and eventually lead to political instability. Donors have threatened to withold funds to the aid-dependent nation if endemic corruption is not curbed through legislation.
The Central Committee meeting, held Saturday, came less than a month before vital national commune elections scheduled for April 1.
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Cambodia's ruling party support ECCC to try DK leaders
The Cambodian People's Party ( CPP) supports the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia ( ECCC ) to try former Democratic Kampuchea (DK) leaders, said a CPP statement received on Sunday.
The stance was clarified at the general assembly of the 33rd central steering committee of CPP held here on Saturday.
The major ruling party agreed with the principles of the agreement between the Cambodian government and the United Nations on the trial of former DK leaders, it added.
In early January, Chea Sim, CPP President and also Senate President, said that CPP supported the ongoing process of the ECCC, which was conducted on the correct timing basis.
Earlier this week, ECCC spokesman Reach Sambath told reporters that ECCC would start their task soon.
The UN plans to meet in Thailand to discuss internal regulations for ECCC, Cambodian officials plan to discuss them in Phnom Penh, and the two sides will later meet for final decision, which will then facilitate the start of trial.
The UN and the Cambodian government co-established ECCC to try the former DK leaders at the expenses of 53.6 million U.S. dollars.
According to independent research, about 1.7 million people died of starvation, overwork and mass grave killing in the DK era in the 1970s.
Source: Xinhua
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Cambodia remembers Heroines in history
Local women's organizations in Phnom Penh on Saturday hosted a commemoration of the heroines through Cambodia's history, right before the International Women's Day comes.
Minister of Women's Affairs Ing Kuntha Phavy attended the convention held at the foot of the capital city's symbolic building, the Wat Phnom, together with over 100 deputies from the organizations who prayed and spreaded flowers on the scene.
"The celebration is the efforts to commemorate the lives, the achievements and the contributions to the society and the history of various Cambodian heroines," said a press release issued by the Committee to Promote Women in Politics (CPWP), major sponsor the activity.
In recognition of the legacies and merits of these influential matriarchal figures, we hope to preserve the Khmer heritage for generations to come, it added.
Cambodian women used to play an active role in the national development. In the ongoing Commune Councils Election, women candidates account for 19.8 percent of the major ruling Cambodian People's Party's total list.
Source: Xinhua
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Brunei's expertise can help Cambodia
By Amin Hosni & Za'im Zain
Bandar Seri Begawan - "Cambodia is a young country in the oil sector and Brunei Darussalam has been around much longer, so we need to work together and to learn from each other:
Cambodian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Haji Nan Sy said this to two Brunei National Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd personnel who yesterday made courtesy visit to the Bengkurong residence of the ambassador.
The two officers from Brunei National Petroleum Company were Chief Executive Officer Haji Mohd Jaafar Haji Awang Bakar and Business Asset Division Asset General Manager Haji Iskandar Haji Yahya.
Several matters were discussed including possible future investments in Cambodia.
"This is only the first stage to the possibility to having better relations between the two nations.
Brunei’s expertise in the oil and gas can help Cambodia," the ambassadors rid.
"Among the attractions of investment in Cambodia is in the tourist sector", he added.
“The purpose of the visit is to explore the possibility to expand business opportunities in the oil and gas area in Cambodia. We haven't got any definite areas of business yet and still needs further studies,” said Haji Mohd Ja’afar Haji Awang Bakar.
Later, the ambassador presented souvenirs to the two officers. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
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Friday, March 02, 2007
Deputy PM to visit US and attend AMM Retreat in Cambodia
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem will pay an official visit from March 11-16 to the United States to strengthen bilateral ties, announced a spokesman on March 1.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Dung said the visit, to be made at the invitation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, aims at boosting the increasingly active momentum in relations between Vietnam and the US, as well as promoting economic, trade, scientific, technological and educational ties.
Measures to implement agreements reached during US President George W. Bush’s visit to Vietnam last November will also be discussed during Deputy PM Khiem’s trip, added the spokesman. (VNA)
* Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem will attend the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) Retreat slated for March 1-2 in Siem Reap, Cambodia..
The meeting is scheduled to discuss measures for implementing tasks set at the 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the building of an ASEAN Charter and an ASEAN community by 2015, said Le Dung, the spokesman of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on March 1.
The event will also touch upon issues related to the bloc's foreign relations, with focus on preparations for summit meetings to celebrate the establishment of ties between ASEAN and its dialogue countries, and the 16th ASEAN-EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting, as well as co-operation among ASEAN members.
ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (VNA)
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Cambodia: Government accused of more evictiions
The Cambodian government has again been accused of forcibly evicting thousands of urban dwellers from prime real estate in Phnom Penh after it signed a deal with a development company to relocate thousands of residents from a popular tourism area in the capital.
Presenter/Interviewer: Steve Holland
Speakers: The Executive Director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, Pa Nguon Tean; Bou Saroeun, from the World Bank's Cambodian office.
HOLLAND: The Beong Kak lake area is a bustling tourism precinct in the heart of Phnom Penh. It's also home to more than 4,000 low-income families. However, a recent contract means thousands of villagers must leave their homes to make way for development as Cambodia steps up its efforts to boost its tourism industry.
The Executive Director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, Pa Nguon Teang, says sinister motives are behind the deal.
TEANG: We suspect that the corruption is a motive behind the funding.
HOLLAND: The agreement was reached between the Governor of Phnom Penh Kep Chuk Tema and the Soka Ko In Company. Under the deal the company has been awarded a 99-year lease of the Beoung Kok site, covering an area of 133 hectares. The area is planned to be developed as a commercial, cultural and tourism centre. Pa Nguon Teang says the government gave residents little warning of the development.
TEANG: The government didn't give any clear information to the public and there is no transparency of the signing of the contract and no information about the project.
HOLLAND: He says a string of social problems will follow as a result of the development.
TEANG: We worry about the violation of the rights of people. If the people will be evicted and a lot of problem that will have to be faced. For example, their children will lose access to school.
HOLLAND: The deal allows the company to develop the large body of water in Beong Kak - it's one of seven natural lakes in Phnom Penh which are said to be crucial to city's drainage.
Pa Nguon Teang warns the proposed development also presents environmental threats which could impact on the entire city.
TEANG: If the government allows the company to fill up the lake and that's a problem for the people in the capital as a whole.
HOLLAND: The Governor of Phnom Penh, Kep Chuk Tema, was unavailable for comment. However, in a statement obtained by Radio Australia, the governor's office said..
GOVERNOR: The Governor on behalf of Phnom Penh residents expresses his profound thanks to Prime Minister Hun Sen, who provides the possibility for the City Hall to reach the investment agreement. The municipality of Phnom Penh will work together with the company to turn the Beong Kak site into a nice centre in central Phnom Penh.
HOLLAND: Creating incentives to lure more tourists features high on the government's agenda. And Bou Saroeun from the World Bank's Cambodian office, says the tourism industry is vital to Cambodia's economy.
SAROEUN: The tourist sector is Cambodia's second most important foreign exchange earner. Cambodia saw a 20 per cent growth in international tourists arrival in 2006, which is 1.7 million international tourists arrive Cambodia in 2006. And the tourist industry is crucial for the Cambodian economy.
HOLLAND: It's not the first time Phnom Pehn residents have faced the prospect of relocation to make way for development. But it's believed the planned development of the Beong Kak area will result in the greatest displacement of Cambodians since 1989. And, as Cambodia's economy continues to strengthen, many feel it will be poor who pay the price for the country's new-found wealth. .
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
KAL launches flight to Cambodia
The two routes, between Inchon and Phnom Penh, and between Inchon and Siem Reap, have already been in operation since last November. The airline company held an official ceremony in Phnom Penh to celebrate its entering the ``Baht Economy'' that covers Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam as well as Thailand.
Chang Jae-ku, chairman of The Korea Times and its sister paper Hankook Ilbo, and 200 other guests attended the ceremony.
``Traditionally, Korean Air has focused on Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, but it is moving to East Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos,'' he said.
Cambodia expects trade with Vietnam to grow by 27 percent
The annual trade volume between Vietnam and Cambodia is expected to grow by 27 percent per year to reach 2.45 billion U.S. dollars by 2010, Cambodian official said here on Wednesday.
"There will be significant rise upon the 940 million U.S. dollars strong (of bilateral trade volume) in 2006, which has placed Vietnam as our fourth biggest trade partner," said Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, on the sideline of the one-day Cambodia-Vietnam Business Forum.
"I believe today that we have the opportunity to take one step further and actually develop stronger ties that will in fact see Cambodia and Vietnam build significantly more paths of friendship between our two great countries, so grass will never grow as our trading paths blossom," he told more than 100 participants of the forum, which was also attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.
"We must find ways to enhance the inter-connectivity, boost investor confidence and open up more economic sectors that can operate seamlessly across our economy," he added.
Also addressing the forum, Kam Si Than, Acting Minister of Commerce, said that in 2006, Cambodia imported from Vietnam about 780 million U.S. dollars worth of commodities, mainly
including clothes, cable, household plastic products, noodles, electronic spare parts and others.
This was an increase of about 244 million U.S. dollars over 2005, he said.
Meanwhile, he said, in the same year, Cambodia exported to Vietnam around 170 million U.S. dollars worth of products, including rubber, forestry, raw resources for clothes products, tobacco leaves, wooden products and others.
This was an increase of about 13 million U.S. dollars over 2005, he said. He noted Cambodia's adverse balance of trade with Vietnam and encouraged Vietnamese investors to pour more money into the kingdom.
Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia: Bring Killers of Trade Unionist to justice
Source: Human Right Watch
(London, February 27, 2007) � The Cambodian government must ensure that the killing of trade unionist Hy Vuthy is thoroughly and independently investigated and that all persons responsible are brought to justice in accordance with international standards of fairness, a group of leading human rights and trade union organizations said today.
The organizations include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights/FIDH and the World Organisation against Torture/OMCT).
On February 24, Hy Vuthy, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) at the Suntex garment factory, was shot dead while riding his motorbike home after finishing his night shift at the Suntex factory in Phnom Penh's Dangkao district. The murder, which took place one kilometer from the factory, was reportedly committed by two men on a motorbike.
Hy Vuthy is the third FTUWKC official to be killed in three years. Chea Vichea, the union's President, was shot dead in January 2004. In May 2004, Ros Sovannareth, the FTUWKC President at the Trinunggal Komara factory, was murdered.
The killing of Hy Vuthy is the latest in a string of attacks and assassinations of union activists in Cambodia. During 2006 there were several violent attacks against FTUWKC officials at Suntex and the neighboring Bright Sky factory. Throughout the year, FTU representatives at the two factories, which have the same owner, lobbied for improvements in employment conditions, particularly relating to contract periods.
In May the union's vice-president at Suntex, Chey Rithy, was attacked while he was riding home from work. The same month, Chi Samon, FTU president of the Bright Sky factory, was attacked by seven men, allegedly including a member of a rival trade union. He was hit several times in the face and on his body with sticks and iron bars. Still in May, Yeng Vann Yuth, active member of FTU of the Bright Sky factory, was attacked as well. In June, Lem Samrith, FTU treasurer of the Bright Sky factory, was beaten by about 20 men as he was coming out of the factory after a night shift. In July, Lay Chamroeun, FTU vice-president of Suntex factory, was attacked by six young men on motorbikes as he was leaving work. In September, Choy Chin, the union secretary-general at Suntex, was beaten on the head by two men armed with a metal pipe. In October, Em Chhay Tieng, FTU vice-president of the Bright Sky factory, was hit in the face and threatened with arrest during a strike in the factory.
Such a pattern of violence is extremely likely to have a chilling effect on the members and leaders of FTUWKC and other union activists throughout Cambodia. It results in the stifling of trade union activities among workers. Cambodia is a party to all major International Labour Organisation conventions, notably those relating to freedom of association and collective bargaining. It is also a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which both provide for the right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his or her choice as well as the right of trade unions to function freely. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders of 1998 also enshrines "the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights".
Prosecuting those responsible for Hy Vuthy's killing is the only way to give a clear signal to the perpetrators of acts of violence against trade unionists that such behaviour will not be tolerated in the future. The Cambodian government must put an end to the prevailing climate of impunity.
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Japan donated 1.7million U.S aid food in Cambodia
Here is the beginning of my postThe Japanese government has decided to donate 210 million yen (about 1.7 million U.S. dollars) food aid to Cambodia through the World Food Program (WFP), a press release said on Wednesday.
The food aid will be allocated to Cambodia for vulnerable groups, such as HIV/AIDS patients, tuberculosis patients, primary school children and those who are suffering from chronic food shortage caused by poverty, the press release from the Japanese Embassy to Cambodia said.
And here is the rest of itThe Japanese government has decided to extend food aid totaling 2,520 million yen (about 20.4 million U.S. dollars) through the WFP to support chronically food-insecure people in 13 countries, including the Kingdom of Cambodia, the press release said.
Notes to this effect were exchanged in Rome on Feb. 27 between Mr. Yuji Nakamura, Ambassador of Japan to Italy and Mr. Jean- Jacques Graisse, Senior Deputy Executive Director of the WFP, it added.
Japan has been one of WFP's largest donors since 1992, it said, adding that the WFP Cambodia Office has received about 91 million U.S. dollars from Japan.
Source: Xinhua .
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Roundup: Cambodia, Vietnam highlight trade, economic cooperation
Cambodian and Vietnamese leaders have manifested their determination to consolidate the traditional relations of close friendship between the two countries and expand cooperation in a wide range of areas, especially in trade and economy, said an official press release here on Thursday.
The release was sent to Xinhua by the Ministry of Information to conclude Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet's state visit to the kingdom from Feb. 27 to March 1.
During his visit, Triet respectively met with King Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen on bilateral ties and cooperation and co-chaired the Cambodian-Vietnamese Business Forum with Hun Sen.
"The meetings were held in a very cordial atmosphere and in a spirit of close friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding," said the press release.
Meanwhile, at the forum held here on Wednesday, both Hun Sen and Triet pledged that their governments will try harder to strengthen bilateral ties on trade and economic activities.
"The Vietnamese government (will) work to encourage its investors to do business in Cambodia, and at the same time the Vietnamese government (will) support Cambodian investors interested in pouring capital into Vietnam, by ensuring better conditions for them," said Triet.
Hun Sen said that "the bilateral relations between Cambodia and Vietnam can create an environment conducive to trade and employment," while emphasizing that both nations are currently working to develop new opportunities in the context of economic exchange.
Also at the forum, Cambodian government officials said that the annual trade volume between Vietnam and Cambodia is expected to grow by 27 percent per year to reach 2.45 billion U.S. dollars by 2010.
"There will be significant rise upon the almost 950 million U.S. dollars (of bilateral trade volume) in 2006, which has placed Vietnam as our fourth biggest trade partner," said Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce.
"We must find ways to enhance the inter-connectivity, boost investor confidence and open up more economic sectors that can operate seamlessly across our economy," he added.
Later addressing the forum, Kam Si Than, Acting Cambodian Minister of Commerce, said that in 2006, Cambodia imported from Vietnam about 780 million U.S. dollars worth of commodities, mainly including clothes, cable, household plastic products, noodles, electronic spare parts and others, which was an increase of about 244 million U.S. dollars over 2005.
Meanwhile, he said, in the same year, Cambodia exported to Vietnam around 170 million U.S. dollars worth of products, including rubber, forestry, raw resources for clothes products, tobacco leaves, wooden products and others, which was an increase of about 13 million U.S. dollars over 2005.
At the forum, both sides signed a trade cooperation agreement, under which the ALPHANAM Sai Gon JSC of Vietnam will supply Amatak Angkor Elevator Company Ltd. of Cambodia with electronic equipment worth around 5 million U.S. dollars, as well as a sports donation agreement, under which Vietnam will offer the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia with products worth about 400,000 U.S. dollars.
Currently, Vietnam is Cambodia's third largest market for exports, following the U.S. and Europe, while Cambodia has been Vietnam's fourth largest importer behind Thailand, China and China 's Hong Kong, according to official statistics.
Source: Xinhua .
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Cambodia welcome U.S. Military Aid, rejects conditions
Cambodia welcomes the United States' decision to award military aid to the kingdom, but rejects any conditions attached to it, the Cambodian Daily reported on Thursday, quoting an official.
"We need assistance without strings attached. If it had strings attached, we would not accept it," Chum Sambath, undersecretary of state for Cambodian Ministry of Defense, was quoted as saying.
Pang Savan, director of the Defense Ministry's department of international relations, said that the U.S. has decided to fund the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) directly because it does not belong to any political party.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle told the paper that some 670, 000 U.S. dollars committed in the fiscal year of 2006 by the U.S. government will be channeled to RCAF to purchase articles such as medical and communication equipment as well as protective gear for border security units.
Another 300,000 U.S. dollars will be used for trucks, spare parts and training, he said.
For the current fiscal year, U.S. aid for RCAF will reach 475, 000 U.S. dollars, he added.
RCAF became eligible for direct U.S. funding after Cambodia agreed not to send U.S. nationals to the International Criminal Court and the United States lifted Cambodia's ranking in its anti- human trafficking report in June, according to Daigle.
Source: Xinhua .
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Roundup: Cambodia, Vietnam highlight trade, economic cooperation
Cambodian and Vietnamese leaders have manifested their determination to consolidate the traditional relations of close friendship between the two countries and expand cooperation in a wide range of areas, especially in trade and economy, said an official press release here on Thursday.
The release was sent to Xinhua by the Ministry of Information to conclude Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet's state visit to the kingdom from Feb. 27 to March 1.
During his visit, Triet respectively met with King Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen on bilateral ties and cooperation and co-chaired the Cambodian-Vietnamese Business Forum with Hun Sen.
"The meetings were held in a very cordial atmosphere and in a spirit of close friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding," said the press release.
Meanwhile, at the forum held here on Wednesday, both Hun Sen and Triet pledged that their governments will try harder to strengthen bilateral ties on trade and economic activities.
"The Vietnamese government (will) work to encourage its investors to do business in Cambodia, and at the same time the Vietnamese government (will) support Cambodian investors interested in pouring capital into Vietnam, by ensuring better conditions for them," said Triet. .
Hun Sen said that "the bilateral relations between Cambodia and Vietnam can create an environment conducive to trade and employment," while emphasizing that both nations are currently working to develop new opportunities in the context of economic exchange.
Also at the forum, Cambodian government officials said that the annual trade volume between Vietnam and Cambodia is expected to grow by 27 percent per year to reach 2.45 billion U.S. dollars by 2010.
"There will be significant rise upon the almost 950 million U.S. dollars (of bilateral trade volume) in 2006, which has placed Vietnam as our fourth biggest trade partner," said Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce.
"We must find ways to enhance the inter-connectivity, boost investor confidence and open up more economic sectors that can operate seamlessly across our economy," he added.
Later addressing the forum, Kam Si Than, Acting Cambodian Minister of Commerce, said that in 2006, Cambodia imported from Vietnam about 780 million U.S. dollars worth of commodities, mainly including clothes, cable, household plastic products, noodles, electronic spare parts and others, which was an increase of about 244 million U.S. dollars over 2005.
Meanwhile, he said, in the same year, Cambodia exported to Vietnam around 170 million U.S. dollars worth of products, including rubber, forestry, raw resources for clothes products, tobacco leaves, wooden products and others, which was an increase of about 13 million U.S. dollars over 2005.
At the forum, both sides signed a trade cooperation agreement, under which the ALPHANAM Sai Gon JSC of Vietnam will supply Amatak Angkor Elevator Company Ltd. of Cambodia with electronic equipment worth around 5 million U.S. dollars, as well as a sports donation agreement, under which Vietnam will offer the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia with products worth about 400,000 U.S. dollars.
Currently, Vietnam is Cambodia's third largest market for exports, following the U.S. and Europe, while Cambodia has been Vietnam's fourth largest importer behind Thailand, China and China 's Hong Kong, according to official statistics.
Source: Xinhua .
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Cambodia to start tapping Oil in 2010
Cambodia expects to start harvesting revenues from its offshore oil reserves in 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday.
The health and education sectors in Cambodia will receive a large share of the revenues, Hun Sen said while addressing a public ceremony.
In addition, Cambodia will not follow the path of some oil-rich African countries, who can not enrich themselves hereafter due to corruption, he added.
Here on Feb. 23, United States Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said that the Cambodia government should avoid the situation that "a small corrupt elite siphons off revenue that should go to improving the welfare of all the people."
He also noted that the extractive industries, namely oil, gas and various types of mining, in the next three years could more than triple the annual revenue received by the Cambodian government.
Oil buzz started in Cambodia in 2005, when U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp discovered petroleum off its coast, striking black in four of five test wells.
The government declines to give exact figures about the oil reserves. The World Bank has put them at two billion barrels while the UNDP confirmed 700 million barrels.
Source: Xinhua .
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