Australian FM hails Cambodia for rapid growth, political stability

PHNOM PENH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr on Monday praised Cambodia for its rapid economic growth in recent years and political stability.
The remarks were made during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace.
Bob Carr said that Australian Development Assistance Program has allocated 77 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia in 2011-2012, focusing on agriculture development, health, services, infrastructure and access to justice.
He added that Australia will continue to assist Cambodia in the future.
Bob Carr congratulated Cambodia on its chairing ASEAN this year and said Australia is proud to be a dialogue partner of ASEAN.
For his part, Hun Sen thanked Australia for its technical and financial supports to Cambodia for decades, saying that Australia was one of several countries that helped Cambodia achieve peace and political stability.
Cambodia's GDP post a 7 percent growth rate in 2011, according to the government figure.
Bob Carr arrived here last Saturday for a four-day visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
Earlier in the day, he met with King Norodom Sihamoni, Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong and Sok An, minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

Cambodia releases agenda of upcoming 20th ASEAN Summit

PHNOM PENH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Foreign Ministry on Monday unveiled the agenda of the 20th ASEAN Summit and related ministerial meetings to be held here from March 30 to April 4.
It said the 20th ASEAN Summit will be chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
During the summit, the ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt documents including the Phnom Penh Declaration on ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny; the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Drug Free ASEAN 2015; and the Concept Paper on Global Movement of the Moderates.
In order to celebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN, the ASEAN leaders will also issue "Chairman's Statement on the 45th anniversary of ASEAN: The Way Forward".
In addition to the 20th ASEAN Summit, Cambodia will also host other related ministerial meetings including ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting; ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting with ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights; Meeting of Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Commission; 7th meeting of the ASEAN Political-Security Council; 7th meeting of the ASEAN Economic Community Council; 7th meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council, and 10th meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council.
At the same time, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers will sign documents including ASEAN Statement on the Protocol to the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, and Instrument of Incorporation of the Rules for Reference of Non-Compliance to the ASEAN Summit to the Protocol to the ASEAN Charter on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Australia ready to lift sanctions on Myanmar: FM

PHNOM PENH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia will remove sanctions on Myanmar step by step as the country has made progress in democratization process, said Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Bob Carr on Monday.
Bob Carr unveiled the plan when he met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong during his visit to Cambodia.
"On Myanmar, we (Australia) are committed to peeling back the sanctions that is applied to the government after consultation with the opposition forces in Myanmar," he told a joint press briefing after the meeting.
"We want to withdraw sanctions stage by stage as the government of Myanmar introduces democracy stage by stage," he said.
He said Cambodia's view on Myanmar is valuable as the country is the chair of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit this year.
Hor Namhong said that as the ASEAN chair, Cambodia hailed the good progress of reforms in Myanmar.
"Both Bob Carr and I have congratulated the change, reform, progress of the democratization process in Myanmar," he said.
Last Wednesday, during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, visiting Myanmar President U Thein Sein said Myanmar would try to do more towards democracy in order to enable the international community to lift economic sanctions.
He also assured that the country's April 1 parliamentary by- election will be held transparently and acceptably with the observation by international observers.

Cambodian, Thai firms ink deal for 1,800 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Koh Kong

PHNOM PENH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's K.K. (Koh Kong) Power firm and Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc on Sunday signed a joint-venture agreement to develop a 1,800 megawatt coal-generated electricity factory in Koh Kong province, some 271 kilometers Southwest of Phnom Penh.
The agreement was inked here between Cambodian tycoon and Senator Ly Yong Phat, president of K.K. Power, and Noppol Milinthanggoon, Chief Executive Officer of Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc, and witnessed by Cambodia's Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sem.
The two firms held 50 percent stake each, Ly Yong Phat said after the signing ceremony without disclosing the investment amount the two firms put in the joint-venture.
"The development of the plant is to meet increasing power demand in Cambodia," he said. "The electricity will be sold to both Cambodia and Thailand."
Noppol Milinthanggoon said that taking partnership with K.K. Power firm would help support Cambodian government's policy in developing and enhancing the national power reliability leading to economic and social advancement.
"I am certainly confident that through efforts and commitment of the two companies, we will be able to continue and achieve our business objectives," he said. "As a neighboring country, we are proud to be a representative of Thai private energy sector to pursue the success of mutual cooperation in the future."
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc is a leading Thai electricity firm and was listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2000, he said.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Suy Sem said the two companies' cooperation would be very important to develop Cambodia's electricity sector, which is one of a key elements for economic and social development.
"More electricity supply will bring reasonable prices for consumers and it will build more confidence among investors," he said.
Electricity shortage is one of the main obstacles for Cambodia in attracting foreign investors. Currently, China is leading in the investments in building electricity power plants in this Southeast Asian nation.
In last December, the Sinohydro Corporation has begun operations of a 193 megawatt Kamchay hydroelectric dam in Southwest Phnom Penh.
And other four China-invested hydroelectric dams with a total capacity of 722 megawatts have been constructing and all are expected to complete by 2015.

Hu Jintao's upcoming visit in Cambodia to boost ties

PHNOM PENH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao to Cambodia next week will build closer ties between the two countries, China and ASEAN as the visit is coincided with the 20th ASEAN Summit, said a senior official Sunday.
The visit will also create more confidence among foreign investors in Cambodia's political and economic stability, said Khieu Kanharith, Cambodian Minister of Information and Government Spokesman, in an exclusive interview with Chinese media.
Hu Jintao is scheduled to pay a four-day state visit to Cambodia from March 30 to April 2 at the invitation of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, according to a press release from Cambodia' s Foreign Ministry.
"We are very pleased to welcome his first visit to Cambodia. The visit will reflect the spirit of mutual understanding, respect and cooperation," he said.
The visit would show that even though China is a powerful country, it has always sought friendship relations with all countries in the region and the world.
"China always treats Cambodia as an equal friend without thinking that Cambodia is a small country," he said, adding that the visit would also demonstrate China's attention and commitment to strengthen closer ties with ASEAN countries.
Meanwhile, the minister reiterated that Cambodia still sticks to one-China policy, seeing both Taiwan and Tibet as a part of China.
In terms of economy, Khieu Kanharith said Hu's visit would encourage more Chinese investors and other foreign investors to Cambodia as they would trust in Cambodia's sound economic and political stability.
"We hope that during Hu's visit, many cooperation agreements will be signed," he said.
During the interview, Khieu Kanharith also highlighted good cooperation between China and Cambodia, and China and ASEAN.
The diplomatic ties between Cambodia and China have been bridged for more than 60 years during the age of former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk and former Chinese leader Zhou Enlai, and the ties have been gradually fostered.
"Until now, our bilateral relations have reached the level of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation," he said.
On the ASEAN-China relations, he said, as ASEAN chair this year, Cambodia would do all its best to promote more mutual understanding between ASEAN and China and would act as a neutral mediator in the South China Sea dispute in order to solve the issue peacefully based on the DOC (the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea) signed between ASEAN and China in Phnom Penh in 2002.
In regard to some Western media reported that China's huge aid and investment in Cambodia are to possess the country's economy and politics, the minister said that China is the largest investor and provider of loan and grant to Cambodia, but China has never attached any conditions with its assistance.
"Chinese investment here is 8.8 billion U.S. dollars. It is the largest capital for Cambodia. With this investment, Cambodia can reconstruct infrastructures and it makes Cambodia have political independence, play a suitable role on international arena, and practically now chair the ASEAN," he said.
He said Cambodia has really appreciated China for its policy of other countries' sovereignty respect, non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and peaceful co-existing.
"This Chinese policy is a factor that makes the situation in Asia stable," he said.

Cambodia calls for more active participation to fight TB

PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia celebrated the World TB Day on Saturday, calling for more active participation from all concerned parties to help the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in 2015.
In a message to mark the day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia has seen success in fighting tuberculosis and the disease treatment services have covered all 1,080 health centers throughout the country.
He said the death rate from TB had also sharply declined from 153 deaths among 100,000 patients in 1990 to 61 deaths in 2010, a drop of 61 percent.
"This figure showed that Cambodia has already achieved the MDG of the 50 percent reduction by 2015," he said.
For the infection rate, the premier said, the tuberculosis infection prevalence rate declined from 1,258 cases among 100,000 people in 1990 to 660 cases in 2010, down 47 percent.
"We almost reach the MDG of the 50 percent reduction by 2015," he said.
Despite the success, Cambodia is still one of the 22 high TB burden countries in the world, he said.
Around 62,000 people are estimated to suffer from TB each year and almost 9,000 Cambodians with TB die annually.
"On this occasion, I'd like to appeal to all ministries, institutions, all levels of authorities, national and international concerned parties, and common people to actively support every activity in fighting against TB in order to help Cambodia achieve the MDG successfully," said the premier.
The Saturday's celebration was presided over by the Minister of Health Mam Bunheng and Pieter van Maaren, the representative of the World Health Organization to Cambodia, and attended by some 400 health officials, TB patients, and students.
At the event, Pieter hailed Cambodia for its strong efforts to reduce the death and infection rates of TB in Cambodia, saying that with the above mentioned results, he believed that the country would be able to achieve the MDG in 2015.

Cambodia's ruling party president elected as senate president

PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Chea Sim, 80, was elected the president of the Senate in the third legislature on Saturday.
All 60 senators, who were present during the session, had unanimously voted for Chea Sim as the president, bringing him as the president of the Senate in three straight mandates since the Senate's establishment in 1999.
The senators had also voted for Say Chhum, chairman of the Permanent Committee of the Standing Committee of the CPP, as the 1st vice-president, and Tep Ngorn of the CPP as the 2nd vice- president.
Speaking after the votes, Chea Sim expressed profound thanks to all the Senators for electing him as the president and the other two CPP's Senators as the 1st and 2nd vice-presidents.
"We'd like to say thanks to all of you for giving confidence in us and let us lead this top legislative body," he said. "We' re committed to working more active in this mandate in order to help the government of Cambodia in building the nation."
The third mandate of the Senate was officially in function on Saturday after the non-universal elections in January, in which the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen won 46 seats and Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the country's main opposition party, gained the remaining 11.
The elections were voted by Members of Parliaments and commune councilors.
The third mandate of the Senate consists of 61 Senators including 46 from the CPP, 11 from the SRP, 2 appointed by the King Norodom Sihamoni, and 2 nominated by the National Assembly.
The Senate, or the upper house, was established in 1999 with a term of six years.