KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Nation-Religion-King
Issued by Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Washington D.C.
April 2007 - Volume 16
Address: 4530 16th Street, N.W.
Washington D.C.
Tel: (202) 726 7742
Fax: (202) 726 8381
E-mail: rec.dc@hotmail.com
Website: www.embassyofcambodia.org

 The US Considers Cambodia as its Main Stream of Cooperation;
 US Peace Corps Volunteers Sworn In to Begin Teaching English in
Cambodia Countryside;
 Favorable Economic Prospect for Cambodia in 2007;
 International Assistance to Cambodia;
 Cambodia Inaugurates Task Force to Fight against Human Trafficking;
 Cambodia Boosts Bird Flu Awareness Efforts;
 Cambodian Traditional New Year;

The US considers Cambodia as its main stream of
Cooperation
In his Meeting with His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister HOR
Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on April 9,
2007, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Phnom
Penh, the visiting US delegate, His Excellency Mr. Eric John told His
Excellency Deputy Prime Minister of the US Stance on Cambodia, saying “The
States has considered Cambodia as its main stream of cooperation in ASEAN as
well as in other regional forum.
His Excellency Mr. Eric John, Deputy Assistance of the US Secretary of
State also praised the progress of relationship between the two countries and
informed His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister of his visit to Kampong Cham
Provinces, where the States has two projects; the renovation of Hanchey temple
and teaching English to Khmer students by the US Peace Corps.
In the meantime, he also congratulated His Excellency Deputy Prime
Minister HOR Namhong for the outcomes of April 1 commune elections, saying
it went smoothly without violence.
His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister HOR Namhong
Hold talks with the Deputy Assistant of the US Secretary of State
In response, His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister HOR Namhong
shared his view with the Deputy Assistant of the US Secretary of State on the
outcome of the commune election and added the opposition party was also happy
with it. Nevertheless, he latter commented with regret over the number of people
who turned to vote that had been decreased. This is the global trend, even in the
US, he said. But in Cambodia, the following reasons could explain the case; first,
people may have migrated to other place for business or they may have gone to
harvest. Second, people were moving from one place to another. Third, people did
not consider commune election as important as the general election.
His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister also expressed sincere thanks to the
US government for its assistance to Cambodia, in the field of education, health,
especially in Bird Flue and HIV/AIDs Prevention and English teaching, especially
through the Peace Corps. The US Peace Corps Mission in Cambodia would not
only promote English learning but would also enhance better understanding
between Cambodian and US people.
In ASEAN context, both sides exchanged views on the commemoration of
the 30th US-ASEAN Summit that would be held either in Singapore or in
Honolulu of the States in July this year. In this regards, Mr. Eric John wished the
Summit be held in Singapore that he thought it could facilitate better, the
participation of all ASEAN leaders. Mr. Eric John also told His Excellency
Deputy Prime Minister “The US government has been prepared to assist
Cambodia in what ever it could through our respective Embassy in eliminating the
existing gap between the old and the new members of ASEAN like
Cambodia, he said . The US would also encourage US-ASEAN cooperation in
political, economic and social fields,” he continued. “It would offer scholarship to
ASEAN students including Cambodian ones”, he added.
His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister welcome the 30th US-ASEAN
Summit be held in Singapore and expressed his appreciation over the signing of
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in June 2006 by the US and
Cambodia. He urged the US to consider acceding the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). Many big countries like China, France and
Russia have already applied for TAC accession, he said. The European Union (EU)
is also applying for it, he added.
Mr. Eric Jonh responded the US would take the matter into consideration.

US Peace Corps volunteers sworn in to begin teaching
English in Cambodian countryside
Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen meets with Mr. Ronald Tschetter delivered a speech
at
Director of Peace Corps, Mr. Ronald Tschetter
the swearing-in ceremony for American
on
April 5 in Phnom Penh.
Volunteers in Phnom Penh, April 4, 2007
Twenty-nine American youths were sworn in on Wednesday April 04 to become the first
group of United States Peace Corps Volunteers to Cambodia. The volunteers will be
training teachers and teaching English in Upper Secondary Schools and Regional Teacher
Training Centers in seven Cambodian provinces during their two-year service, an
embassy press release said.
"I believe that the Peace Corps' program in Cambodia will open new opportunities for
future generations of Cambodians," Mr. Tschetter said in a speech at the swearing in of
the 15 female and 13 male US Volunteers.
The volunteers have spent the past eight weeks living with families in Kampong Cham
province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) East of Phnom Penh, so they could learn to
speak Khmer and adjust to the local culture. The ceremony Wednesday highlighted how
well the volunteers mastered the language in just two months.
Three Americans sang the Cambodian national anthem in the Khmer language at a
ceremony in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to herald the official start of the U.S. Peace
Corps' first volunteer program in Cambodia.
All 400 attendees stood as Sam and Kara Snyder, a couple from Buffalo, New York, and
Autumn West, from Greenback, Tennessee, opened the event by singing the national
anthem in Khmer. They then sang the U.S. national anthem while their fellow volunteers
and American officials stood to attention with their hands on their chests.
Conor Cronin, from Scarsdale, New York, delighted the audience by delivering a speech
in Cambodian, with Felicidad Garcia, from Miami, Florida, acting as his translator for the
American guests. The crowd laughed when Cronin joked that he was chosen to give the
speech because he was "the most handsome volunteer."
"We, the volunteers, have come to Cambodia from different parts of America, each with
a different history. But we are all here ... with the same commitment to serve as best as
possible in every way," Cronin said.
Cambodia is the 139th country to receive a mission from the Peace Corps in its 46-year
history. The group has about 7,500 volunteers in 73 nations.
U.S. Peace Corps volunteers applaud during
a swearing-in ceremony in Phnom Penh
Sam Snyder and other Peace Corps Volunteers
attend a cultural training class

Favorable Economic Prospect for Cambodia in 2007

International and domestic conditions bode well for continued favorable
economic prospects for Cambodia in 2007, said a report issued by the World
Bank's (WB) Cambodia Office in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
"The four growth pillars, namely garments, tourism, construction and agriculture,
are expected to continue to thrive in 2007 with real Gross Domestic Products
(GDP) growth estimated at about 9 percent," it said.
Overall growth is also expected to remain strong in the medium terms, it said,
adding that increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will be sustained and the
discovery of offshore oil and gas reserves will likely bring about even higher
growth.
"The new oil sector will also pose additional challenges to macro-economic and
fiscal management," it said. "Strong macro-economic performance, underpinned
by prudent fiscal and monetary policies, is thus expected to persist, though these
new opportunities and risks will also shape medium term prospects," it concluded.
According to WB, Cambodia's real GDP grew at about 10.5 percent in 2006 over
2005, marking a third consecutive year of double- digit rate.

As its rice production in 2006 hit record high in a decade, Cambodia's
dream to build a rice exporters' coalition aimed at sharing more profits and
procuring economic power has been fueled.
Cambodia, a traditional agricultural country with rice as its major crop and staple
food, harvested more than 6,264,000 tons of rice in 2006, which is about 4 percent
up compared with the previous year, a senior government official said on Monday.
"The rice production in 2006 broke the record of Cambodia in a decade," H.E.
Chan Sarun, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, told reporters in an
annual meeting of the Ministry in early April. The rice production increased
because of good weather and irrigation system, he said, adding that Cambodian
farmers understood better about farming and chose correct seeds for planting.
Meanwhile, market also responded positively in 2006 as rice price jumped to a
range between 120 U.S. dollars and 135 U.S. dollars per ton, while seeds of topquality fragrant rice were sold at 180 U.S. dollars per ton, according to statistics
from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Cambodia..
In December 2006 Cambodian Prime Minister called on Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam to join hands with Cambodia to form an association of rice exporting
countries to stabilize rice price and share more profits from rice sales. An
association of the rice exporting countries along the Mekong River could be
important for the world market, he said, adding that the association was somewhat
like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Annual rice
exports in the region of the Mekong River stand at over 10 million tons, almost
half of the world's annual rice exports.

The Cambodian government will invest 2.5 billion U.S. dollars to develop
the kingdom's road system from now to 2025. "Developing road system is a main
factor for helping reduce poverty in Cambodia, because roads will make people
feel easy to travel and communicate between city and rural areas, can transport
their products to sell in markets." said H.E. Sun Chan Thol, Minister of Public
Works and Transportation.
"We are considering to find aid and loan from the Asian Bank of Development,
the World Bank and the Australian government of about 42 million U.S. dollars to
facilitate the plan," he added.
The World Bank (WB) and the Australian government will respectively provide
30 million U.S. dollars and six million U.S. dollars in aid for regular road
maintenance in Cambodia. "The Australian government will send experts to help
us in road maintenance" at the cost of six million U.S. dollars. The World Bank
will also provide Cambodia with six million U.S. dollars each year for five years
for regular road maintenance.
In 2007, Cambodia will maintain 2,337 km of roads, including national and rural
roads, at the cost of about 23.8 million U.S. dollars, said official statistics.

Cambodia will build a new seaport within the Stung Hav area in
Sihanouk Ville from 2007 to 2012, to meet the rising demand from import and
export of goods, Cambodian Prime Minister said on Wednesday April 04. "This
conforms with our open sky policy, which means that we use all means, including
sea, land, and air ways, to develop our economy," The present Sihanouk Ville
seaport can't meet all the demands of import and export and a new seaport will
solve the problem and expand the country's economic growth, the Prime Minister
added. The project will be implemented by a Cambodian-Japanese joint venture.

On Saturday April 07 Chinese companies launched two power projects in
Cambodia, the Stung Atay hydropower plant and a set of electricity transmission
network. The hydropower plant costs 190 million U.S. dollars and can generate
465 million kilowatt-hour of electricity per year, according to a press release from
the Chinese companies.
The power transmission network is constructed at the cost of 113 million U.S. dollars to
connect Phnom Penh, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, it added. China
Yunnan Corporation for International Techno-Economic Cooperation and Yunnan
Southeast-Asia Economy and Technology Investment Industrial Co., LTD. undertake the
construction and development of both projects, the press release said, adding that the
Cambodian government adopts BOT pattern (build, operate and transfer) for the projects.

International Assistance to Cambodia

The Australian government will provide 12 million Australian dollars (9.7
million U.S. dollars) to help clear landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia.
Announcing the major funding to mark International Mine Action Day, Australia's
Special Representative on Mine Action and Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, Mr. Greg Hunt said Wednesday April 04, the funding would help to clear
explosives from millions of square km of land across affected areas in Cambodia.
"Cambodia is one of the world's most heavily mined countries with up to 6
million landmines estimated to be scattered throughout the country," Mr. Hunt said in
a statement. Australia's funding to be disbursed over four years will help to continue
the already good work of the landmine clearance program in Cambodia and allow demining teams to continue their clearance work, he added.
Australia has committed around 50 million dollars (40 million U.S. dollars)
to mine action-related activities in Cambodia since 1996. Australian aid and that from
other countries had helped to reduce mine and unexploded ordnance casualty rates
from 3,000 to 450 a year. Clearing for Results had proved its effectiveness, exceeding
its land clearance target for 2006. In 2006, 8.7 million square metres of land were
cleared of mines, well in excess of the annual clearance target of 5.9 million square
metres.

Cambodian government get ready itself for a priority given in the development
cooperation with Denmark, hoping Denmark will provide more aid to Cambodia, said
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An while meeting with Ulrek Federspiel, Permanent
Secretary of State at Foreign Ministry of Denmark in Phnom Penh on April 2.
The Deputy Prime Minister elaborated to the guest on the political situation in
Cambodia, and a process of the commune council election held recently in
atmosphere of fairness in spite of some small problems. He also told him of the good
governance, planning action of the royal government, a draft law on anti-corruption,
the public reform and human rights.
The Deputy Prime Minister asked Denmark to help Cambodia conduct a
survey on environment protection project, referring to the national revenue gained
probably from the oil resources in 2009.
From 1992 to 2006, Denmark offered 86 million US dollars in aid for natural
resources management, environment protection, governance and human rights in
Cambodia. In addition, a fund of 60 million US dollars for 2006-2010 natural
resources management and people’s living projects, including 36.7 million US dollars
from Denmark and 23.7 million US dollars from the United Kingdom, was used from
July 2006.

Cambodia Inaugurates Task Force to Fight against
Human Trafficking
The Cambodian government inaugurated on Friday April 06 a national task force
to combat human trafficking. "The first national task force has been established to
help resolve the huge concerns of the Cambodian government in fighting human
trafficking effectively," said H.E. You Ay, Secretary of State of the Ministry of
Women's Affairs, who was appointed as the task force leader. "Cambodia will not
tolerate exploitation," she added.
There are so many organizations operating in Cambodia but it can be difficult to
measure the success of anti-trafficking efforts, and many of them are competing
for donor funding, said Mariel Sander Linstrom of the Asia Foundation, who is the
technical adviser to the task force. "The problem up until now has been that we
have about 200 organizations at least, and international organizations and
government ministries," She added, and probably more than 5,000 people were all
over Cambodia trying to stop trafficking, but they were not speaking to each other
or following the same systems or standards. The new task force will co-ordinate
efforts and get a clearer picture of what is actually going on. Despite the problems,
there are signs that Cambodia is making some progress.
The task force will streamline efforts by both government institutions and NGOs
to fight against human trafficking for various forms of exploitation, such as slave
labor, begging and prostitution, of which Cambodian men, women and children
have all been victims.
The national task force is a major step forward for the Cambodian government's
efforts to coordinate a unified campaign to combat all forms of trafficking of men,
women and children for slave labor, begging, prostitution and other exploitations.
The force comprises 14 ministries and institutions and its members will be
organized into three working groups to respectively address the problems of
human trafficking, protection and reintegration of trafficking survivors and justice
for victims through prosecution.
"The force has a broad mandate to implement agreements and bilateral
memoranda of understanding to eliminate trafficking and assist victims," said H.E.
You Ay.

Cambodia Boosts Bird Flu Awareness Efforts
Bird flu initially broke out in Cambodia in January 2004. The disease has killed seven
Cambodians, and the latest toll occurred on April 05, 2007. The Cambodian Agriculture
Ministry and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have been cooperating to
train about 4,700 vets and villagers for reeducating people to prevent bird flu. They were
chosen to give the messages about preventing bird flu to villagers in rural areas, said Yon
Fernandez, coordinator of bird flu project from FAO to Cambodia.
UN and Cambodian government officials began a campaign to educate rural residents on
the dangers and signs of bird flu, or avian influenza. The campaign, which was featured
marches and programs, were held from April 9 to 12 in the districts of 8 provinces of
Kompong Thom, Kompong Speu, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampot, Svay Rieng,
Kompong Chhnang and Stung Treng that are considered at the high risk for the disease.
The marches, which were joined by village animal health workers, veterinarians and local
residents, occurred in these provinces as they are home to a large number of domestic
animals and have had poor exposure to media regarding bird flu's dangers. The village
animal health officials said the disease be misdiagnosed by the country's often
uneducated farmers and they believe that giving prevention messages to communities in
these areas will provide them with the knowledge and actions they need to protect their
families and birds from avian influenza,". More than 26,800 birds have been culled so far,
of which nearly 9,000 were killed by agriculture officials.
The Australian government gave Cambodia US$1.2 million (€880,000) on May 02 to
help raise awareness about the risks of bird flu. The money will be used by the United
Nations Children's Fund for its ongoing project producing bird flu awareness posters,
billboards, and radio and television spots.
Knowledge about the deadly H5N1 virus has increased rapidly in Cambodia, but
backyard poultry farming - a way of life for most rural families - still poses an enormous
challenge for the country, Australian Ambassador Margaret Adamson said at a signing
ceremony. Last year, the Australian government also gave UNICEF US$765,000
(€562,290) for the same purpose.
Cambodia has been praised by the United Nations for its rapid action against bird flu,
which has helped spare it from the human and poultry deaths suffered by its neighbors.
But health officials also warn that the virus could go undetected in the countless small
family farms where most of Cambodia's poultry are raised. Border controls have also
been tightened to prevent poultry from being smuggled from Thailand and Vietnam.

Cambodian Traditional New Year
Cambodia’s traditional New Year, “Chaul Chhnam Thmei” falls in around mid
April or the Chet, the fifth month of the Cambodian lunar calendar during which peasants
are relieved of their farm work after the dry-season rice harvest.
Three days before new year’s eve, ‘April 14’, houses and pagodas are decorated
with flowers, fresh, plastic or paper, with multiform lamps, candles, colored papers,
incense sticks and small paddy or rice mounds ( formerly built of sand as a symbol of
good harvest) which later will be carried to pagodas as an offering to monks.
On New Year eve an exorcist rite is held to pray for the happiness and prosperity
in the coming year. Everything is well arranged in advance in each family so that people
can be free from kitchen work during the festive days.
During the New Year festival which lasts for three days, Cambodians especially
the aged, go to pagodas, where usually traditional music is played by an orchestra called
“Pinpeat”, to make offerings to monks and pray for the souls of their ancestors.
Young people are the most to enjoy the New Year festival. They dance day and
night the Romvong (the most popular dance in Cambodia), or Join in different games
such as “Chol Chhoung” (knotted scarf throwing-participants group, themselves in twoone male and one female—members of each group, standing in a line take turn to throw
the knotted scarf to the other side. Those who fail to catch the scarf have to sing a song),
“Angkunh” (nut-throwing similar to the billiard game but on the ground instead of the
table)
Nowadays, several traditional games such as gushing colored water at passer-by
as a wish for luck, or bamboo canoe race etc... Are no longer seen in the country
excluding few northwestern areas such as Siem Reap, Battambang, but other
entertainments such as artistic performances, film shows, circus, etc...
In urban centers, People, in their Sunday best, stroll around public gardens, and in
parks, visit splendid sites and historical monuments or see expositions. In the past three
or four decades, Cambodian, urban people and countrymen alike, liked picnicking or
visiting ancient temples, including Angkor Wat, during the New Year holidays.
“Trodd” (Troddi) is one of the much-liked Khmer folk dances performed most
often on the occasion of Cambodia’s traditional New Year ‘Chaul Chhnam Thmei’ to
drives out all bad lucks in the old year and wish for the good in the new year, and on
some big festivals. It also used to be performed at praising-for-rain rite when long spells
of drought struck a locality.
Actually nobody knows when and where ‘Trodd” first appeared in Cambodia.
According to one hypothesis it might be linked to people’s belief that if a wild animal got
in the village it would take from them good lucks, so they gathered, sprayed some kinds
of fragrance and spread pigments on the animal asking it to give them back good lucks.
Maybe in this process “Trodd” dance was created with performers, representing different
animals such as red deer, Bull, peacock, who would appear before the villagers for being
sprayed with fragrance and painted with pigments. In so doing the people believed that if
a real animal comes no harm will be done to them. From then on the dance was
performed every year. Then, the dance has become a heritage of the Cambodian people
In the former time, the “Trodd” dance was brought to perform on every New Year
occasion before the Kings and royal families to wish them the happy New Year. This also
explains why ‘Trodd’ is still very popular particularly in Siem Reap Province and vicinity
of the former capital city of “Angkor Wat which was built from the 9th to the 13th century.
The number of dancers varies according to the people’s wish, but usually about 16,
including four main dancers, two female and two male, one as a stag which represents
evil forces, a ‘Dangdol’ (a person who carries some kind of musical instrument, four
‘Kanhchhe’ (person who clowns here and there, two giants, two monsters, two drummers,
a hunter and some others.
