to Switzerland ព រ ត ត ប ព ត រ ត ម ន Year: 7 No. 75 Cambodia- China Spring Issue: 21-28 September 2014 CONTENT: King and Queen-Mother Return Home from China King and Queen-Mother Return Home from China PAGE 1 Filipino Ambassador Bids Cambodian PM Farewell PAGE 2 VOA Khmer interview with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong Cambodia, Australia Reach a MoU Relating to Settlement of Refugees in Cambodia PAGE 3 Cambodia Committed to Eliminate Blindness by 2020 Cambodia s Information Ministry and China s Yunnan Province Reach a MoU on Media Cooperation and Exchange PAGE 4 Case 002/02 Trial To Commence in Mid-October Cambodia Attracts US$1.7 Billion Investment Projects Through ASEAN-China Expo Vietnamese Visitors Stay on the Top List of Foreign Arrivals in Cambodia PAGE 5 Nearly 70,000 National and International Tourists Visit Preah Sihanouk Province During Pchum Ben Festival PAGE 6 & PAGE 7. His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, and Her Majesty Queen- Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk arrive home this afternoon after spending about a month for a routine medical checkup and a visit in China. The Cambodian monarchs were warmly welcomed at Phnom Penh International Airport by National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, First Vice President of the Senate H.E. Say Chhum, and many other highranking officials as well as royal family members. P A G E 1
Filipino Ambassador Bids Cambodian PM Farewell Outgoing Ambassador of the Philippines to Cambodia H.E. Noe A. Wong (L, pic. 1) pays here this morning a farewell visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, at the end of his diplomatic mission in the Kingdom. To be continued in page 3 P A G E 2
VOA Khmer interview with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong just gave an interview with VOA Khmer's Sok Khemra in New York, before addressing the UN General Assembly on Monday, September 29. The interview was conducted at Cambodia's permanent mission to the UN. In the interview, the Foreign Minister discussed his upcoming speech to the UN General Assembly; Cambodia's concerns that the ISIS problem could become a new Cold War if not properly resolved; the latest in the South China Sea dispute; US President's recent honoring of two Cambodian rights activists; and this week's controversial refugee deal between Cambodia and Australia. Cambodia, Australia Reach a MoU Relating to Settlement of Refugees in Cambodia Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H.E. Sar Kheng (R) and visiting the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister of Immigration and Border Protection of Australia, sign this afternoon in Phnom Penh a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of Australia Relating to the Settlement of Refugees in Cambodia... P A G E 3
Cambodia Committed to Eliminate Blindness by 2020 Cambodia has been preparing a national strategy to eliminate the blindness by 2020 in line with the World Health Organization s strategy, Dr. Ngy Meng, Director of National Program for Eye Health, Ministry of Health, told local media recently. We are preparing a national strategy for 2016-2020 in order to reduce the blindness rate to the lowest level, he said. Until now, we have human resources and we have established eye treatment centers in almost all provinces and cities, added Dr. Ngy Meng, also Director of Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital. Cambodia s Information Ministry and China s Yunnan Province Reach a MoU on Media Cooperation and Exchange H.E. Buth Bovuth (R, pic.1), Director-General of the General Department of Information and Broadcasting of the Ministry of Information of Cambodia, and visiting Ms. Wu Jingbo, Deputy Chief of the Publicity Department of China s Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Media Cooperation and Exchange between the Yunnan Provincial Department of Information and the General Department of Information and Broadcasting, on Sept. 22 in Phnom Penh under the presidency of H.E. Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information of Cambodia, and visiting Mr. Ge Guangzhi, Deputy Director of Department No. 6 of the Information Office of China s State Council. P A G E 4
Issue: 8-14 August 2014 The Trial Chamber has announced that evidentariary hearings in Case 002/02 against Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, two surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders, will commence on Oct. 17, 2014 at 09:00, according to the newsletter of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The Co-Prosecutors will be allowed to make a brief opening statement and the Accused will be given an opportunity to respond, before the first witness will be called to testify on Monday Oct. 20, it said. Unless otherwise specified, the Chamber will sit three days each week following the same daily schedule as in Case 002/01, beginning each day at 9:00 am and ending at 4:00 pm with a lunch break Case 002/02 Trial To Commence in Mid-October from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm and a morning and afternoon break as determined by the President, it added. The schedule will be revisited after the parties have filed their appeal brief in Case 002/01, underlined the newsletter. The case 002/01, also against Nuon Chea, 88, former Chairman of the National Assembly of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) and Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea; and Khieu Samphan, 83, former Head of State of Democratic Kampuchea, was ended on Oct. 31, 2013, and on Aug. 7, 2014, the ECCC s Trial Chamber indicted Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan to life imprisonment. Two other co-accused, Ieng Sary, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea and his wife Ieng Thirith, former Minister of Social Affairs, were also part of the same case (002/01), but the proceedings against Ieng Sary were terminated on Mar. 14, 2013, following his death the same day. For her part, Ieng Thirith was released from provisional detention on Sept. 16, 2012, and she is currently under judicial supervision after being found unfit to stand trial due to her dementia. Cambodia Attracts US$1.7 Billion Investment Projects Through ASEAN-China Expo Cambodia attracted over US$1.7 billion investment deals through the ASEAN-China Expo in the past six years, from 2008 to 2013, Mr. Ou Prum Vireak, a Cambodian coordinator at the ASEAN-China Expo, told reporters recently. We are now collecting the information for this year as some business deals have been reached elsewhere, he added. Cambodia s annual participati0n in the ASEAN-China Expo is a golden opportunity for Cambodian producers, traders, businessmen to show and promote their products and services, he underlined. Vietnamese Visitors Stay on the Top List of Foreign Arrivals in Cambodia The number of Vietnamese tourists to Cambodia is still on the lead despite the decrease, followed by the Chinese and South Korean visitors. According to a recent report of the Ministry of Tourism, in the first seven months of this year, Cambodia has attracted some 493,000 Vietnamese, down 3 percent; 318,250 Chinese, up 19 percent; and 267,900 South Koreans, down 0.1 percent if compared to the same period of 2013. In total, around 2.54 million foreign tourists have visited Cambodia during the January-July 2014 period, an increase by 4.5 percent over the same period last year, pointed out the report. Tourism is one of the main drive for Cambodia s GDP. In 2013, the country received 4.2 million foreign tourists, generating a revenue of US$2.5 billion. P A G E 5
Issue: 21-27 August 2014 Nearly 70,000 National and International Tourists Visit Preah Sihanouk Province During Pchum Ben Festival P A G E 6
National and international tourists visit beaches in Sihanoukville, Preah Sihanouk province. According to the Provincial Tourism Department, during the three-day Pchum Ben Festival (Sept. 22-24), there were nearly 70,000 national and international tourists visiting Preah Sihanouk province. Published in August, 8-14 2014 by: Address: 3, Chemin Taverney, Tel.: (+41)22 788 77 73 P.O. Box 213 Fax: (+41)22 788 77 74 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Email: camemb.gva@mfa.gov.kh Switzerland. Website: www.cambodiaembassy.ch P A G E 7