Cambodian Prince Ranariddh announces to quit politics for 2nd time

English.news.cn   2012-08-10 22:06:22

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of Norodom Ranariddh Party, announced on Friday that he decided to quit politics from now on in order to focus on humanitarian activities.
"I notice that the monarchy regime in Cambodia is stronger under the protection by the constitutional law and the government of Cambodia led by Prime Minister Hun Sen," the prince said in a statement from France.
"I'd like to declare that, from now on, I stop doing politics and will no longer be responsible for the tasks and decisions of the Norodom Ranariddh Party."
"I will start doing social and humanitarian affairs to contribute to the national development under the reign of the King Norodom Sihamoni," he said.
The prince's surprising announcement to quit politics came more than two months after his attempt to reunite the royalist parties-- the Norodom Ranariddh Party and the Funcinpec Party--failed.
Prince Narariddh is the son of the former King Norodom Sihanouk.
The prince declared to quit politics for the first time in October 2008 after he received a royal pardon for fraud charges, and he re-entered politics in December 2010.

Cambodia to host 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting this month

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and related meetings will be held in Siem Reap, the cultural province of Cambodia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, according to a press release from Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will open the 44th meeting on Aug. 27, said the press release.
The meeting will discuss topics relevant to trade liberalization and economic cooperation among the 10 ASEAN member states and with dialogue countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States, Canada and Russia.
The ASEAN economic ministers will also have joint meetings with the 26th ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) Council and the 15th ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Council, it said.
There will also be a consultation meeting between ASEAN economic ministers and head of the World Intellectual Property Organization, it said.

Besides, there will be the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit and Cambodia's Garment and Textile Expo.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Cambodia attracts 1.76 mln int'l visitors in first 6 months, up 27%

English.news.cn   2012-08-06 12:25:08

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had received 1.76 million foreign tourists in the first six months of this year, a 27 percent rise compared with the same period last year, showed a report released by the Ministry of Tourism on Monday.
Some 1.06 million foreign tourists, or 60 percent of the tourists, had visited the world heritage site, Angkor archeological park, in Siem Reap province located about 315 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
During the January-June period this year, Vietnam topped the chart among the top ten arrivals to Cambodia with 378,130 tourists, up 30 percent, followed by South Korea with 227,200, up 32 percent, and Chinese visitors at third with 151,890, up 33 percent.
Thai visitors to Cambodia had increased by 91 percent to 91,860, making Thailand the fifth largest arrival groups to Cambodia.
The sharp rise in Thai tourists here is thanks to the improving relations between the two neighbors after the military tension over border disputed areas has eased since last July.
The report said about 48 percent of the visitors arrived in Cambodia by air, 49 percent by land and the rest by water ways.
Tourism industry is one of the major four pillars supporting the economy of this Southeast Asian nation. Last year, the sector received 2.88 million foreign tourists, generating the total revenue of 1.91 billion U.S. dollars.

Investment from China vital to boost Cambodia's economic development

English.news.cn   2012-08-06 13:31:30

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Investments from China and other foreign countries are very important to spur Cambodia's economic development, Heng Samrin, President of Cambodia's National Assembly, said Monday.
His remarks were made during a meeting with Cheng Zhaohong, general manager of Shandong Shantui Construction Machinery Import- Export Company, on the occasion that the firm opened a branch in Cambodia.
Heng Samrin said that the presence of Shantui Company in Cambodia reflected Chinese investors'trust on Cambodia's political stability and favorable business environment. "The firm's presence will help further enhance trade and investment ties between Cambodia and China," he said, pledging to provide support to the company to operate here successfully.
Cheng Zhaohong said that Shantui Company is one of the largest manufacturers of construction machinery and the largest producer of bulldozers.
He said the firm's decision to expand to Cambodia because it saw that the country has much room to grow in construction and agriculture.
Bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and China was 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. The two countries have vowed to double the volume within the next 5 years.
On the investment side, China is the largest investor here. According to a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, from 1994 to 2011, the country had received investments worth 8.91 billion U.S. dollars from China.

Cambodian high school students compete for college entrance

English.news.cn   2012-08-06 18:55:39

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 114,000 Cambodian high school students on Monday attended the annual national high school graduation exams, which is a prerequisite for students to pursue their studies at college or university level.
Sam Sereyroth, head of the education department at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, said that 114,114 high school students would take the exams at 254 exam venues across the country.
The exams will be finished on Wednesday morning.
Cheating in the exams is still rampant in this country. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, said Monday that officials found that students had hidden cheat sheets under their clothes and to cheat during the exams, they had pooled their money to give to invigilators to ensure that their cheating would not be caught or punished.
He said a student gave between 1.25 U.S. dollars and 3.75 U.S. dollars for each subject in the exams.
Generally, days before the exams, cheat sheets would be sold at printing shops and bookstores around schools.
Some students go to Buddhist pagodas to get an anointment from a monk in hope to pass the exams.
The exam results will be announced on Aug. 31 or Sept 1.
In Cambodia, each high school graduate, who obtained a satisfactory score in high school graduate exams, is eligible to apply for their favorite colleges or universities, either private or national.
Each individual national university, which is free of tuition charge, will organize another enrollment exam for its applicants, which is highly competitive and academic performance based.
The high school students who failed to pursue their colleges studies will turn to the job markets or vocational schools.

Cambodian PM to address border issues with Vietnam in parliament next week

   PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will address the National Assembly (NA) on border issues with Vietnam next Thursday, according to a NA’s press release on Saturday.

   The press release said that the National Assembly would hold its 8th plenary session of the 4th legislature on Aug. 9 under the presidency of Heng Samrin, NA’s president. One of the agendas in the upcoming session is “a verbal clarification to the NA on border demarcation tasks between Cambodia and Vietnam”.

   The clarification is made at the request of Sam Rainsy Party, the country's major opposition party.

   Hun Sen said on Wednesday that he would need 4 hours straight to explain to the parliament on the issues.

   The premier's plan to appear at the National Assembly was unveiled after the opposition party had subsequently accused the current government of national betrayal for ceding land to Vietnam.

   "It is serious and unacceptable that they call us 'traitors', so I need to explain these issues," he told a graduation ceremony of more than 2,600 students at the Royal University of Law and Economics on Wednesday.

   He said his upcoming remarks will be televised live in all local TVs if possible.

   Cambodia shares a 1,270-km border with Vietnam to the east. To date, about 80 percent of the border demarcation has been completed and the two countries have vowed to fully complete it by the end of this year. 

Cambodia to host 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting this month

   PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and related meetings will be held in Siem Reap, the cultural province of Cambodia, from Aug. 25 to September 1, according to a press release from Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce on Saturday.

   Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will open the 44th meeting on Aug. 27, said the press release.

   The meeting will discuss topics relevant to trade liberalization and economic cooperation among the ten ASEAN member states and with dialogue countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States, Canada and Russia.

   The ASEAN Economic Ministers will also have joint meetings with the 26th ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) Council and the 15th ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Council, it said.

   Also, there will be a consultation meeting between the ASEAN Economic Ministers and the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization, it said.

   Besides these meetings, there will be the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit and Cambodia’s Garment and Textile Expo.

   The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.