Day: March 22, 2023

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has expressed his reaction against two opposition activists that have insulted His Majesty the King and himself.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony of Vanda Institute held at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre here this morning, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said he accepts the freedom of expression, but does not tolerate any insults, especially to His Majesty the King.

Samdech Techo Prime Minister said the two activists have to present the evidence and facts to defend their respective comments which appeared on social media yesterday when the Royal Torch Lighting and Torch Relay Ceremony for the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games 2023 were broadcasted live.

“You should present your evidence on your comments on social media. I do not tolerate anyone insulting the King. It must be done in accordance with the law, and I do not accept any apology for that,” he said.

The two activist – Mr. Yim Sinorn and Mr. Hun Kosal – have been arrested for questioning.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

The Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia leads the Spiritual List of the Must-See Sunrises, according to Morninglife.co.uk, a famous website of the United Kingdom.

“Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is the best spot to watch the sunrise from in the world with 10,404 mentions on Tripadvisor,” the website commented.

“The walk through the trees to the east gate, and on to the main complex, is magical – often no one around at an early hour, with the birds singing as it grows light,” writes one reviewer of Angkor Wat. The Cambodian temple complex has two and a half times more mentions for its sunrise than any other attraction in the world quoted by Morninglife.co.uk.

The most attractive sunrise event at the Angkor Wat Temple is known as Equinox Angkor, a natural phenomenon when the sun rises over the central tower of the Angkor Wat Temple, which occurs twice each year, in March and September.

Yesterday, a total 8,726 national and international tourists flocked to Angkor Wat Temple to admire and take picture of Equinox Angkor.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

More than 300,000 national and international tourists were recorded across the country during the second week of March, said the Ministry of Tourism in a report released on Tuesday.

Of the registered number, the source pointed out, some 254,618 were national tourists and nearly 51,898 were foreign visitors.

The most visited destination during the said period was Preah Sihanouk coastal province, followed by Siem Reap cultural province, Phnom Penh capital, and the coastal province of Kampot.

Battambang, Kampong Cham, Banteay Meanchey, and Pursat provinces were also among the 8 most attractive destinations last week, the report added.

This year, Cambodia is expected to receive at least 4 million international tourists and around 15 million domestic tourists.

In 2022, the ministry tracked the movement of domestic tourists to 13.93 million, a year-on-year increase of 199 percent, while the number of foreign tourists to Cambodia rose by 1,059 percent to 2.28 million.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting the Cambodian economy.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Cambodia and Viet Nam have agreed to further boost more economic activities, trade, and other sectors for mutual benefit, pointed out a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued after the 20th Meeting of the Cambodia-Viet Nam Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

“To maintain the momentum, the two sides agreed to cooperate and expedite the completion of the Master Plan on Cambodia-Viet Nam Economic Connectivity 2030 within this year,” it said.

According to the same source, both sides agreed to effectively implement the signed MOUs and Agreements, including the Agreement on the Transit of Goods between Cambodia and Viet Nam and further facilitate the goods in transit under the provisions of bilateral, regional and international agreements to which both sides are parties, in particular the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.

They also reviewed the progress of the implementation of the Agreed Minutes of the 19th JC Meeting held in December 2021. They agreed to further promote regular exchanges of visits and meetings between Leaders, ministries, institutions and local authorities of the two countries to strengthen cooperation in all fields including Education and Human Resource Development, Agriculture, Science, Technology and Innovation, Trade and Investment, Transportation, Post, Telecommunications, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Culture, Sports and Tourism, Border Issues, Defense and Security, among others.

Furthermore, both sides discussed the strengthening of cooperation in sanitary and phytosanitary measures to prevent the cross-border spread of pest and infectious diseases, Phnom Penh-Bavet-Moc Bai-Ho Chi Minh City rail link, and so on.

The 20th Meeting of the Cambodia-Viet Nam Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held on Mar. 21 under the co-chairmanship of H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and his Vietnamese counterpart H.E. Bui Thanh Son.

Besides the meeting, H.E. Prak Sokhonn paid an official visit to Vietnam, during which he paid separate courtesy calls on and conveyed the warmest regards of Cambodia’s leaders to H.E. Vo Van Thuong, President, and H.E. Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Vietnam.

Despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-way trade volume between Cambodia and Viet Nam grew remarkably, reaching US$10.57 billion by 2022, an increase of 10,88 percent compared to 2021.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

The APSARA National Authority’s stone restoration and conservation team has connected the piece of ivory stone to the middle head of the three-headed elephant sculpture at the southeast corner of the Takav Gate, said the authority in a news release this morning.

According to the same source, the connection was made after the excavation team found this ivory.

Mr. Mom Sophon, Technical Officer for Stone Restoration and Conservation said that the team excavated and cleared the area around Takav Gate and found two pieces of ivory stone – one was at the southeast corner of the elephant’s head and the other at the southwest corner. One of the two pieces is fully formed and found its original location, i.e. at the middle head of the three-headed elephant sculpture at the southeast corner of the gate. It is 44 cm long, 23 cm wide, and 20 cm thick. The second piece is not fully formed and cannot be identified at any location of the three-headed elephants.

The technical official said that the connection of the ivory piece to the original location will allow the public, national and international tourists to see the full shape of the three-headed elephant sculpture that Khmer ancestors carved, what kind of ivory, and in particular, the value of the art history that Khmer ancestors left behind was not completely lost.

Mr. Mom Sophon said that it was good that the ivory, which has been buried in the ground for many years, has been found. Moreover, he added, we also found the original location, and the public could visit and explore the southeast corner of the Takav Gate because we rarely see the three-headed elephant sculpture’s full shape of ivory stone at the five gates of Angkor Thom.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse