CAMBODIAN, VIETNAMESE LEADERS HOLD BILATERAL TALKS CAMBODIAN, CHINESE LEADERS HOLD BILATERAL TALK. ISSUED ON 01: 1-15 January 2018

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1 Weekly publication of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to UK, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Ethiopia and African Union ISSUED ON 01: 1-15 January 2018 CAMBODIAN, VIETNAMESE LEADERS HOLD BILATERAL TALKS Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen received here this morning at the Peace Palace his visiting Vietnamese counterpart H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, on the sidelines of the 2nd Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders Meeting. According to H.E. Eang Sophalleth, Assistant to the Cambodian premier, H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly of both countries bilateral trade volume which reached US$3.8 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent. He also congratulated Cambodia on peace, political stability and high economic growth. The Vietnamese leader expressed his conviction that Cambodia will host the 2nd MLC Leaders Meeting successfully which will further enhance Cambodia s prestige in the region and the world. Cambodia s Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen meet with, Vietnamese Counterpart at the Peace Palace. For his part, Samdech Techo Hun Sen expressed warm welcome to H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying that his presence will contribute to the success of this MLC Leaders Meeting. H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived here this morning to attend the 2nd MLC Leaders Meeting to be held at the Peace Palace this afternoon under the theme Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development. CAMBODIAN, CHINESE LEADERS HOLD BILATERAL TALK Cambodia s Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen (R, Pic. 1) greets visiting Chinese Premier H.E. Li Keqiang, prior to their bilateral meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, held here this morning at the Peace Palace a bilateral talk with visiting Chinese Premier H.E. Li Keqiang. This bilateral meeting took place as part of H.E. Li Keqiang s official visit in Cambodia after the conclusion of the 2nd Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders Meeting organised in Phnom Penh yesterday. According to the Cambodian premier s Assistant H.E. Eang Sophalleth, in the meeting, Samdech Techo Hun Sen and his Chinese counterpart expressed their appreciation for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two nations and pledged to further promote stronger cooperation. H.E. Li Keqiang said China will continue supporting Cambodia in the country development, mine clearance, hospital construction, tourism, etc. The Chinese leader affirmed to provide a fund of 1,200 million Yuan for small development projects and some 600 million Yuan for mega projects, including expressway construction in Cambodia.For his part, Samdech Techo Hun Sen thanked China for its assistance to Cambodia and recalled the tourism and investment relations between both countries. He also asked the Chinese side to consider buying Cambodia s sugar. After the bilateral talk, both leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of 19 important cooperation documents, including the MoU on Further Promoting the Development of Cambodia-China Technology Transfer Centre, MoU for Cooperation in Quality Promotion, Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, Exchange of Notes on Restoration Project of Royal Palace in Angkor, Exchange of Notes on Provision a batch of materials, MoU on the Project of Love Heart Journey in Cambodia, MoU on Joint Formulation of the Plan on Modern Agriculture Development in Cambodia, MoU for Cooperation in Rice Research, Agreement on Establishment of High Value Tree Species Breeding Centre in Cambodia, Loan Agreement on the Transmission Line 230 KV Project Phase II (Completion of Loop Transmission Line in South Western & Eastern Part of Cambodian National Grid), Loan Agreement on the National Road No.3 Construction Project from Phnom Penh (Chom Chao)-Bek Kus-Kampot Town, MoU on Mutual Cooperation, The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway Concession Agreement, Cooperative Agreement on the field of Technical Vocational Education and Training, MoU on Rice Trade, Engineering. capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources and agriculture and poverty reduction. Continued on page (2)

2 ISSUED ON 26: 1-15 January th ANNIVERSARY OF JANUARY 7 VICTORY OF JANUARY DAY OVER GENOCIDAL REGIME Over 45,000 Cambodian people from different walks of life gathered here this morning at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the January 7 Victory Day (Jan. 7, ) over the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime. This event took place under the presidency of Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly and Honorary President of the ruling Cambodian People s Party (CPP); and Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister and President of CPP. We are celebrating this anniversary to commemorate always our supreme gratitude for our heroic cadres and soldiers of the National United Front for Salvation of Kampuchea, and the heroic Vietnamese voluntary troop, who sacrificed their flesh and blood in the fight to overthrow the genocidal regime of Pol Pot and defence of Cambodian national and people s survivals, said Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the occasion. Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin (2nd L, Pic. 1), President of the National Assembly and Honorary President of the ruling Cambodian People s Party (CPP) and his spouse, and Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen (2nd R, Pic. 1), Prime Minister and President of CPP and his spouse, preside over the commemoration of the 39th anniversary of January 7 Victory Day held at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre, Phnom Penh this morning with the participation of more than 45,000 Cambodian people. The premier also expressed Cambodian s deep gratitude for friendly countries, near and far, and peace and justice loving people in the world for supporting wholeheartedly for the course of national salvation and saving the people from the death abyss. The past 39 years clearly indicates that stemming from that day, Cambodia has been marching on a correct direction in accordance with the people s sacred aspiration, and in lines with common tendency in the region as well as the world, he underlined. PHNOM PENH POIPET RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE YEAR END Railway construction from Phnom Penh to Poipet, at Cambodia-Thailand border, will be completed by the end of this year to resume the Northern Line s operation. The information was shared by Senior Minister and Minister of Public Works and Transportation H.E. Sun Chanthol after the signing ceremony of three contract agreements for the improvement of National Road No. 5 from Prek Kdam to Thlea Ma am, held at the ministry office yesterday. According to H.E. Sun Chanthol, the ministry will encourage construction dealer to end the above-said project by July or at the end of this year. This 337-kilometer-long Northern Line from Phnom Penh to Poipet was originally built and in operation between 1929 and 1942, during the French colonial era. Besides the Northern Line, the Southern Line of 256 kilometre long from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, Preah Sihanouk province, has been already renovated and put into operation. PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN VISITS MILITARY EXPO 2018 Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen attends this morning a military sports competition and exhibition organised at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh from Jan. 12 to 14. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen visited yesterday the military exposition and sports competition 2018 organised at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh. The premier spent his time to visit each of the over 30 booths with military equipment, weapons, artificial forest on display from Jan. 12 to 14, H.E. Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Chairman of Joint Staff of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the event s organising team leader, said the main aims of this event are to mark the 39th Anniversary of the January 7 Victory Day, to commemorate the sacrifice of Cambodian veterans, to allow the public to learn more about the armed forces roles, and to increase the strong relations between the public and the armed forces. This is the second year that the RCAF hosted such event. PHNOM PENH DECLARATION OF 2 nd MLC LEADERS MEETING CHINESE PREMIER TO 1 BE THE FIRST FOREIGN LEADER TOMVISIT CAMBODIA IN Chinese Prime Minister H.E. Li Keqiang will come to Cambodia next week for an official visit, according to Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Next week, we will welcome Chinese Premier H.E. Li Keqiang who will pay an official visit to Cambodia, said the Cambodian leader on his official Facebook page this morning. At the same time, more Chinese investors will come to explore business opportunities in Cambodia, he added. H.E. Li Keqiang will be the first foreign leader to pay an official visit to the Kingdom this year. Last year, Cambodia welcomed leaders from at least seven countries, including President of Singapore H.E. Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam and his spouse, Myanmar President H.E. U Htin Kyaw and his spouse, Lao President H.E. Bounnhang Vorachith and Lao Prime Minister H.E. Thongloun Sisoulith, Vietnamese Prime Minister H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Filipino President H.E. Rodrigo Duterte, Thai Prime Minister H.E. Prayut Chan-o-cha, and Bangladeshi Prime Minister H.E. Ms. Sheikh Hasina. CAMBODIA EARNS US$107 MILLION FROM ANGKOR TICKET SALES IN 2017 The famous Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province, a UNESCO s World Heritage Site, generated a total revenue of some US$107 million from entrance pass sales in 2017, up 72 percent compared to a year earlier. According to a press release of the Angkor Enterprise, the state-owned institution in charge of Angkor income management, the entrance passes were sold out to 2,45 million foreign tourists from January to December, a percent increase. From February last year, the new price for entrance to the park saw an increase to bring it in line with other tourism destinations in the region and some of the income will go to charity. In 2016, Angkor entrance tickets sales generated US$62.5 million and were sold out to 2.19 million foreign tourists. CAMBODIA ATTRACTS 3,052 CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN 2017 The construction sector attracted in total 3,052 projects of 10,746,219 square metres worth US$6.42 billion this year. The figures were released at the annual meeting of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction held yesterday under the presidency of Samdech Kralahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Senior Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction H.E. Chea Sophara. Last year, there were only 2,405 construction projects of 11,444,736 square metres worth US$5.25 billion. CRC PRESIDENT GIVES DONATIONS TO MORE THAN 2,000 TRASH COLLECTORS President of the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), Samdech Kittiprittbandit Bun Rany Hun Sen, has held a get-together with 2,125 families of workers of Cintri, a trash-collection company, and of Phnom Penh Municipal Department of Public Works and Transports. The gathering took place yesterday at the CRC 2 headquarters in Phnom Penh. On the occasion, Samdech Bun Rany Hun Sen reaffirmed the CRC s continued mission to assist the vulnerable people at any time and any place. She also called on people, especially the youth, to stay away from drug and other narcotic substances, and

3 PHNOM PENH DECLARATION has approved a financial assistance of US$8 million to support the ECCC s operation in 2018, according to Cambodia s Permanent Representative to the UN H.E. Tuy Ry. On Dec. 24, 2017, I delivered a statement after the adoption without a vote by the General Assembly of its seventy second session on the Secretary General s request for a subvention to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) for 2018, which has approved to provide US$8.00 million for the international components of the ECCC, he said in his Facebook account.. Recently, the European Union (EU) has pledged a I S I OEuro N S to O support F C A Mthe BO D I A of budget of 10Vmillion process the ECCC or the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for the period. ECCC was established by an agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and UN on June 6, It is a special Cambodian court which receives international assistance through the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials (UNAKRT). ECCC s budget proposal for , is about US$46.12 million of which US$24.72 million relates to 2018 and US$21.4 million to Since the establishment, it has spent US$293 million, of which US$224.3 million on the international component and US$68.7 million on the national side. CAMBODIA ATTRACTS SOM 5.6 MILLION FORREIGN TOURISTS IN 2017 Continued on page (3) CAMBODIA, VIETNAM CONSTRUCT FIRST MODEL BORDER MARKET The construction of the first ever model market at the border between Cambodia s Thbong Khmum province and Vietnam s Tai Ninh province began this morning. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Da commune, Memut district of Thbong Khmum province under the presidency of H.E. Pan Sorasak, Cambodian Minister of Commerce, and H.E. Vu Quang Minh, newly appointed Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia. The market, named Da, will contribute to increasing trade activities at the border and enhancing local people s livelihoods as well as to solving challenges and trade barriers, said H.E. Pan Sorasak. For his part, H.E. Vu Quang Minh said that Da Market will bring new hope and opportunity for the Cambodian and Vietnamese people and will In last five years, Cambodia attracted foreign direct investment worth between US$1.7 billion and US$2 billion annually. become a model of development and trade and economic cooperation expansion at the common border of the two countries. Built on an area of 19,628 square meters with an estimated cost of some US$2 million, this market development project was first approved in 2013 and reconfirmed in 2016 by the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of Vietnam. In last five years, Cambodia attracted foreign direct investment worth between US$1.7 billion and US$2 billion annually. During the first 11 months of last year, Cambodia-Vietnam two-way trade reached US$3,438 million, a year-on-year increase by 31.5 percent. Cambodia attracted some 5.6 million foreign tourists last year, generating 620,000 direct jobs for Cambodian people, said recently a senior official of the Ministry of Tourism. Of the total international visitors, the Chinese stood at the first place with around 1 million tourists, followed by the Vietnamese and the Europeans, pointed out H.E. Heng Sok Chamroeun, Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism. Most of them visited the cultural province of Siem Reap, coastal areas, eco-tourism areas and so on, he added. Mr. Luu Meng, Co-Chairman of the GovernmentPrivate Sector Working Group on Tourism, said that the growth in the number of restaurants, chefs, interpreters, service providers and guides shared a significant part in attracting foreign tourists, particularly the Chinese. In 2016, over 5 million tourists visited Cambodia, an increase by 5 percent over the previous year. The country is expected to welcome 7 million international visitors by 2020, of them 2 millions are Chinese US$3.3 MILLION FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT IN NORTHEAST OF CAMBODIA

4 Over 900 Runners Join 2nd Angkor City Night Music Run ISSUED ON 26: 1-15 January The Angkor City Night Music Run, the 2nd of its kinds, attracted over 900 national and international participants, up from 600 in the first event. Taking place on Dec. 31, 2017 at Pub Street area in Siem Reap province, the night run is aimed not only to attract more tourists to Cambodia, but also to raise funds for social and humanitarian work, said Mr. Sem Phalla, the event s organiser. Such event has already gained popularity in Asia, the United States and Europe, he pointed out. The 1st Angkor City Night Music Run was held in November 2017 and the third one is scheduled to be organised later this month. Article in Khmer by Heng Nalin

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