Japan Donates US$72 Million for Sihanouk Ville Port Development

By Soy Sophea

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (IMFC) and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, Katsuhiro Shinohara have signed an agreement on a Japanese grant and loan to Cambodia. The signing ceremony was conducted under the presidency of the Cambodian Prime MinisterHun Sen.

Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for their support of Cambodian development during the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on August 13.

Hor Namhong, said that he welcomed the grant aid and loan from Japan to contribute to Cambodia’s development. He added that Japan has assisted Cambodian 13 times since 1993 with grant’s for the improvement of Cambodia’s economic structure.

Katsuhiro Shinohara, said that the Sihanoukville Port Multipurpose Terminal Development Project, costing up to 7 billion Yen, equivalent to around US$72 million, will support the port by developing the general cargo terminal oil supply base. “The importance of this is clear,” he said. “Sihanoukville Port will play an ever more important role in the national economy as a maritime gateway to and from Cambodia.”

Katsuhiro added that since he was appointed as Ambassador to Cambodia in 2007, up to now, exchange of notes have been signed to a total amount of over 31 billion Yen, equivalent to approximately US$229 million. “This includes the Port Grant and funding for 60 other projects by Japanese NGO’s,” he said.

Moreover, Katsuhiro assured that Japan would continue to be the number one donor to assist Cambodia in every possible way in its efforts to reduce poverty and develop the nation. “I hope that the assistance from the people of Japan and the Japanese government committed today will accelerate Cambodia’s economic and social development, and will ultimately benefit all the people in the kingdom of Cambodia.”

WB Announce Additional US$13 Million Support

By Soy Sophea

On August 4, the World Bank (WB) has announced to invest US$13 million to improve the food security in the Kingdom. The money will be put to use by increasing productivity and by making it possible for farmers to access new marketing opportunities.

According to the WB’s press statement the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the WB came to an agreement about using the new donation to provide food security for the poorest and most vulnerable parts of the population. The Smallholder Agriculture and Social Protection Development Policy Operation will support the efforts of the Cambodian government to minimize the effects of the increase in global food prices and the economic crisis.

Annette Dixon, World Bank Country Director commented, “Even though Cambodia is a rice exporter, the poor are highly vulnerable to high food prices and it was not clear that smallholder farmers had the needed support for them to take advantage of higher prices to produce more. We hope that this operation will reinforce the excellent work of other programs from Government, NGOs and donors supporting agriculture and social protection in Cambodia. It will also help the poor to improve their agricultural production and access to market, and to protect the most vulnerable group through better policies.”

In particular, the program sets out to ensure better oversight and regulation of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seeds to improve food productivity at a small farm level. It will also accelerate the registration of farmers’ groups so that individual farmers can better access credit and marketing opportunities for their crops. At the same time, the program will improve the country’s social protection systems to reach the country’s neediest people.

Since 1993 the WB has provided assistance to Cambodia for a total amount of US$916 million, including the US$13 million announced last Tuesday. US$246 million of the total was provided in the form of grants, the remaining US$670 million was donated in the form of credits.

The US$13 million is made up of an US$8 million grant from the Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP) and a US$5 million credit from IDA, the World Bank’s fund for low income countries. The GFRP, to which the Australian Government was a signifi cant contributor, is managed by the World Bank and provides financial and technical support to countries affected by the global food crisis.

The Australian Government, through AusAID, is contributing AUD$ 2.8 million for analytical and capacity building support and the design and evaluation of pilot activities to support the program. Margaret Adamson, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia stated, “We support the Cambodian Government’s focus on strengthening services for farmers - to increase productivity and also to combat poverty. The supply of better seeds and fertilizer and ensuring social safety net help reaches the poorest of the poor.”

PM Hun Sen Proud of KR Tribunal

By Soy Sophea

The Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his optimism that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) would be deemed a successful process by national and international experts.

“The Cambodian prosecutors, judges, and lawyers have preformed to the same high level standards as the international UN staff,” the Prime Minister made this statement during a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education on August 5.

Since the start of the trial against Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, on March 30 of this year the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has welcomed over 12,000 visitors. In a press statement the ECCC talks about the measurements taken to reach out to people with an interest in the trail.

“Due to targeted effective outreach through the use of radio broadcasts, the court has been able to provide to larger audience information about how to attend the court hearings,” the statement

added. “The ECCC is providing free bus transportation to the court from the provinces for groups of 30 or more that have expressed interested in attending the Duch-trial.”

Thus far, two experts (Nayan Chanda and Craig Etcheson), 11 fact witnesses and seven Civil Parties have given testimonies before the Trial Chamber. An additional seven fact witnesses,

one expert (David Chandler) and 20 Civil Parties are scheduled to give testimonies until 26 August which is the period currently scheduled by the Trial Chamber. An end-date for the trial proceedings has not been set yet, said ECCC’s press statement.

There is continued public interest in the ongoing trial. 404 for representatives from national and international media have been accredited, and averages of 45 media representatives have covered the proceedings on a daily basis.

The trial is being broadcasted live every day on CTN on antenna, cable and satellite and by Radio Free Asia webcast. TV Apsara is also broadcasting the daily proceedings with a delay.

12,996 visitors have attended the first 50 days of the trial, making an average of 259 visitors per day. Four months into the Duch-trial, ECCC noted there was still a large interest in visiting the

court. Busses have already been organized to bring another 1,000 people to witness the trail in person.

The Prime Minister has further stated that, “The whole of Cambodia should be proud of the staff at ECCC. As I am Khmer I am personally proud of the officials working at the court.”

CAMBODIA AND THAILAND SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT

By Soy Sophea

The Royal Governments of Cambodia and Thailand have signed pacts to improve their cooperation and so avoid the possibility of weapon fi ghts and relief tensions at the border, according to the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister Namhong, who arrived home on August 5 after a two-day official state visit to Thailand, said that his visit had a very fruitful outcome.

“In the future we will work together on educational, cultural, labor, criminal and public health issues and officials of both governments have stated their commitment to put an end to the continuous border tensions,” he added.

Furthermore both parties came to an agreement to open a temporary border between the two countries at Boeng Snor commune in Banteay Meanchey province. This will enable the exchange of prisoners from both sides.

Prisoners will be allowed to serve their sentence in their country of origin. Also both governments declared their commitment to treat each other’s prisoners with humanity and dignity. The two authorities will fulfill their obligations according to the 1963 Vienna Convention of Consular Relations.

The Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, told reporters upon his arrival that the meetings between him and his Thai Foreign Minister’s counterpart Kasit Piromya´s were conducted in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. Thus, reflecting the current state of good and close neighborliness and cooperation for the mutual benefits of the two countries. “We have reached consensus on a number of different topics.”

To manage the tensions the Thai-Cambodian border the delegation decided to take the following measures.

The Royal General Consulate of Cambodia currently located in Sa Kaeo’s Mueang is going to be relocated to the Aranyaprathet district, and a Royal Thai General Consulate will be opened in Siem Reap in the near future.

Both countries will expedite a five-year plan on labor cooperation. Thailand agreed to design and implement effective measures that will enable Cambodian seasonal and daily workers the work legal in the border areas of Thailand. The delegation also decided to work closely together on preventing the spread of infectious diseases as the Mexican fl u, HIV/AIDS, tuberculoses and malaria.

On economic issues it was decided that the two countries will work closely together on promoting tourism. The possibility of a joint visa, valid for both countries was discussed. Moreover, the Thai promised to encourage Thai investments in Cambodia and promote confidence among the Thai investors.

Both parties made a joint press statement, elaborating on their cooperation.

In the press statement the Cambodian delegation expressed their gratitude for Prince Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s sponsorship to the construction of the Kampong Chheuteal High School. The joint press statement also talked about the struggle against cross border trafficking of cultural property. “Cambodia and Thailand want to work together, also in a cultural sense.” Cultural property is very important for a countries identity, both countries committed to returning smuggled artifact to their country of origin. “By protecting each other’s culture we will further strengthen Cambodia’s and Thailands friendship,” stated the release.