Day: March 21, 2024

Cambodia welcomed 988,574 international tourists in the first two months of 2024, up 18 percent over the same period last year, a Ministry of Tourism’s report showed on Mar. 21.

Thailand topped the sources of international arrivals, with 247,530, followed by Vietnam and China, with 185,385 and 109,990, respectively.

Some 42 percent of the total foreign tourists entered the country by air, up 33 percent.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy, in addition to garment, footwear, and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction, and real estate.

Number of Cambodian outbound tourists decreased by 3.9 percent to 262,580 during the two-month period, read the report.

The ministry reported the number of domestic tourist movement at 3.58 million, an 84 percent increase year-on-year. 813,813 of them were domestic foreign tourists.

Cambodia is well known for its world cultural heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province, the Preah Vihear Temple and Koh
Ker Temple in Preah Vihear province, and the Sambor Prei Kuk Archaeological Site in Kampong Thom province.

Besides, the Kingdom has a 450-kilometre-long pristine coastline stretching across four southwestern provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong.

Ministry of Tourism predicted that Cambodia would attract about 7 million international visitors to Cambodia by 2025, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic of 6.6 million in 2019.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Six months until an official launch of its operation, a Cambodian non-governmental organisation, the River Ocean Cleanup (ROC), in cooperation with Leader Energy, has collected 80 tonnes of waste from Cambodia’s main rivers.

The update was shared during the official kick-start of their five-year cleanup mission in Cambodia on Mar. 20 in Phnom Penh under the auspices of Minister of Environment H.E. Eang Sophalleth.

Deeply appreciating the work, the minister said that it is well in line with the government and ministry’s commitment to promote cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Cambodia.

H.E. Eang Sophalleth and Phnom Penh Governor H.E. Khuong Sreng, who also joined the event, called on the strong support and engagement of the public as well as concerned authorities for the cleanup.

ROC Executive Director Nou Sovann highlighted that, ‘We can clean up the waste from the river and its banks in five to six years, but to keep the river clean forever, we need to put in place proper and workable waste manageme
nt along with public awareness and necessary law enforcement.”

The cleanup mission, he added, has so far collected about 1,693 metric tonnes of waste from the rivers and their banks in Phnom Penh and Kandal province.

The collected waste from the start of the cleanup operation in 2023 until its completion in 2028 will be recycled into a wide range of items for different uses.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

More than 10,000 national and international tourists this morning flocked to Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap provincial city to admire and take picture of equinox, a natural phenomenon when the sun rises over the central tower of Angkor Wat Temple, said the APSARA National Authority on Mar. 21.

Due to the favourable weather this morning, tourists can visit and capture the beautiful sunrise, the same source added.

The equinox is the time when day and night are approximately equal in length, unlike some normal months when the night is longer than the day or the day is longer than the night.

The equinox at Angkor Wat is not a coincidence, it is a feature of the Khmer ancestors who prepared the architecture of the temple in advance, with the intention of adjusting the natural phenomena for Angkor Wat to create an event of the sunrise at the top of temple.

This special sunrise event occurs twice a year, in March (Spring or Vernal Equinox) and in September (Autumn Equinox).

According to Mornings.co.uk, a famous
website of the United Kingdom, the Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia remains the world’s best place to see the sunrise.

‘Angkor Wat is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Steeped in history and rich in culture, it is a must-visit attraction. Although views from this spot are inspiring at any time of the day, a sunrise here is not to be missed,’ the website commented.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

H.E. Dr. CHEM Widhya, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia (MFAIC), visited the Republic of Trkiye on Mar. 19-20, 2024.

According to a press release of the MFAIC, during his stay in Ankara, he was received for a courtesy call by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tkiye H.E. Mr. Hakan Fidan.

H.E. Dr. CHEM Widhya co-chaired the Third Session of Bilateral Political Consultations between the two Foreign Ministries with H.E. Ambassador Burak Akçapar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He also met H.E. Mr. Serkan Kayalar, President of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Mr. Afif Demirkiran, Deputy Chairman of AK Party / Foreign Affairs Chairmanship, and Prof. Dr. Necdet Ünvar, Rector of Ankara University.

The Third Session of the Bilateral Political Consultations and the meetings were held successfully in a cordial atmosphere of excellent friendship and yielded fruitful results.

The two countries are cele
brating this year the 65th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations back on Nov. 7, 1959. They emphasised the importance of mutual high-level visits to further strengthen and expand the existing close ties and manifold cooperation, especially in trade and economic exchanges.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Cambodia is very proud of religious harmonisation in the country. Despite their different religious beliefs, the Cambodian people are well united.

‘This is not only a source of pride for Cambodia, but also for countries in the region and the world,’ said Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, while presiding over here on Mar. 21 the 8th Ramadan Iftar Dinner of Cambodian Muslims.

The Royal Government, in the cause of the nation and the people, strives to ensure that all religions are protected, guaranteed and encouraged to ensure progress, peace and development, he added.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet reiterated the Royal Government’s attention to religious freedom of its people, on the basis of strengthening the harmony between the followers of all religious denominations, opposing any discriminatory acts in order to prevent religious exploitation which would cause religious crisis in Cambodia.

The Cambodian Premier took the opportunity to call for attention to the
training of professional and technical skills so that Cambodian Muslims can get appropriate jobs for a better family’s living standard and society.

Samdech Thipadei Prime Minister also recommended continued national and international cooperation to raise funds and techniques to support the development of the Cambodian Muslim community.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse