The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 632 - Tuesday, 29.9.2009
"Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen dismissed yesterday, Monday, forecasts by major banks of the world which had said that the Cambodian economy has contracted different from their former forecast, saying, 'We do not care about those forecasts; what is important is that our Khmer people have enough food to eat.'
"A Report of the International Monetary Fund had predicted that the Cambodian economy will decline in 2009 by up to 2.75% - but different from that prediction it now predicted that it will drop by only 0.50%. Also, the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank had predicted a lower decline.
"The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen, said as he presided over an inauguration ceremony of a building of the Ministry of Tourism, 'Now, I would just like to say that whatever kind of forecast it is, whether there is a plus or a minus, this is not important, because these are only figures, but the most important thing is to observe the living conditions of the people in order to see whether they have enough water and food to eat or not. This is it.'
"The economic analyst of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Dr. Kang Chandararath, said that these assessments should be conducted at the end of the year so that they are accurate, even though now the report showed that there was a decline. But based on three sectors, the garment sector comprises of about 15% of the GDP, tourism about 6%, and the construction sector about 4%. In total, these three sectors contribute 24% to 25% of the GDP. But agriculture is the biggest sector in Cambodia, covering as much as 30% and it has the most important role, besides the three sectors above.
"Dr. Kang Chandararath added, 'Through the recent Pchum Ben Day holidays, Cambodia saw no serious impacts, because many people joined to celebrate the event actively. This showed that the Cambodian people still possess a strong economy. He added that recently, the three sectors above, the garment sector, tourism, and the construction sector, are recovering gradually.
"During the inauguration of a building of the Ministry of Tourism, the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Thong Khon, said that according to an assessment of the World Tourism Organization in 2009, the global tourism will drop by about 4% to 6%. In Cambodia, within the first six months of 2009, the number of tourists declined by about 1.1%, compared to the corresponding period in 2008, in which it declined by 13% in Siem Reap and by 11.90% in Sihanoukville, but it increased by 9% in Phnom Penh. But recently starting from May to August 2009, the number of tourists has risen again by 7% to 10% in each month. The Minister of Tourism added, 'This report showed that tourism increased by 1.37%, compared to the same period in 2008.'" Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #297, 29.9.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #297, 29.9.2009
Note:
Least Developed Countries: Criteria for identification of LDCs
In its latest triennial review of the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2006, the Committee for Development Policy used the following three criteria for the identification of the LDCs:
To be added to the list, a country must satisfy all three criteria...
=
Least Developed Countries in Asia
Some of these countries are LandLocked Developing Countries (#), or Small Island Developing States (*).
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2058, 29.9.2009
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6765, 29.9.2009
Meatophum, Vol.53, #746, 28-30.9.2009
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5007, 29.9.2009
Note:
This statement indicates hat there is a change in the position of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia. During the exchanges between the Royal Governments of Cambodia and of Thailand, in the official Cambodian document pepared by the Council of Ministers, proposing the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List presented to UNESCO (in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic), as well as in the final Joint Communique - signed by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An for the Kingdom of Cambodia, and by the [then] Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and witnessed by an Assistant Director General of UNESCO in June 2008 - to finally prepare the decisive session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in July 2008, the term of "buffer zones" is used, referring to their geographic location in relation to the temple itself, specifically adding that the inscription of the temple itself "shall be without prejudice to the rights of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand on the demarcation works" - mutually acknowledging that the borderline in this area has not been finally agreed upon. See the following Documents 1 and Document 2.
Document 1
The Kingdom of Cambodia
The Temple of Prah Vihear
Proposed for the inscriptin on the World Heritage List (UNESCO)
Edited by the Council of Ministers
June 2008
(continuing in this document:)
CAMBODIA AND THAILAND ENHANCE THEIR COOPERATION FOR THE INSCRIPTION
OF THE TEMPLE OF PREAH VIHEAR
In a spirit of friendship, neighborliness and mutual understanding between the two countries, the Royal Government
of Cambodia and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand have been working together in recent months to
strengthen dialogue and consultation in a number of areas of mutual interests...
5) And finally, during a meeting in Paris (France) on 22 May 2008 between a Cambodian delegation led by His
Excellency Mr. SOK An, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and a
Thai Delegation led by His Excellency Mr. Noppadon Pattama, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the
Kingdom of Thailand in the presence of a number of UNESCO eminent members, led by Her Excellency the Deputy
Director General of UNESCO for Culture, Mrs Françoise RIVIERE. The Kingdom of Thailand reconfirmed its
support for the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List at the 32nd
Session of the World Heritage Committee to be held in Quebec, Canada in July 2008. For it part, the
Kingdom of Cambodia, in a spririt of goodwill and conciliation, accepted to inscribe the Temple of
Preah Vihear on the List of the World Heritage, at this stage, without a buffer zone on the north and
west of the Temple.
[The boldfaced secion is also boldfaced in the original.]
Sources:
(English) 4.24 MB, (French) 6.52 MB, (Español) 3.86 MB, (العربية ) M4.51 MB.
Document 2
JOINT COMMUNIQUE
[beginnig abbreviated]
The meeting was held in a spirit of friendship and cooperation.
During the meeting both sides agreed as follows:
[tThis referns to the maps of 1904 and 1907, used by the International Court of Justice in 1962.]
[We are not aware that drafts of, or information about this joint Cambodian-Thai management document, due in 4 months for submission to UNESCO, have been published.]
Phnom Penh, 18 June 2008
For the Royal Government of Cambodia
H.E. Mr. SOK AN ,
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers
Bangkok, 18 June 2008
For the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Mr. NOPPADON PATTAMA
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Paris, 18 June 2008
Representative of the UNESCO
Françoise Rivière
Assistant Director-General for Culture
Source:
The text of the Joint Communique, including the map presented by the Cambodian side), can be found here: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/pdf/jointcommunique.pdf
Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1796, 29.9.2009
Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.