Phnom Penh, Sept. 22, 2011(PRU) – Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An told the outgoing U.S. Ambassador that the Royal Government is pleased by the state of bilateral relations with Washington. Both agreed that relations have expanded since important figures of the two countries exchanged visits.
Dr. Sok An welcomed Washington’s move to begin its agricultural education program in Cambodia in the future.
“This has been a positive result of your term as ambassador,” Dr. Sok An told Ms. Rodley, who has completed her three-year posting to Cambodia.
Dr. Sok An recalled that in September 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen met with President Obama in New York.
Also improving ties were the visits to Cambodia by former President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said the Deputy Prime Minister. Former President Carter, a patron of Habitat for Humanity, visited Cambodia in 2009. Secretary of State Clinton visited in 2010.
H.E. Dr. Sok An thanked the U.S. and its legal experts who helped Cambodia to establish the law for the prosecution of the former Khmer Rouge leaders for their crimes in the 1970s.
“These are very important points,” Dr. Sok An said in the meeting.
Ambassador Rodley expressed her pleasure at Cambodia’s cooperation in various fields, which has contributed to expand the bilateral relations in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Washington has contributed millions of dollars for the operation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to support the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders.
“We have made progress together. I am happy that the first trial took place during my work in Cambodia. It was wonderful for me,” Rodley said, referring to the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, the head of S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge regime.
Dr. Sok An thanked the U.S. for having supported Cambodia in international fora, for instance by voting in favor of inscribing the Temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.
“We are trying to boost agricultural production by modernizing farming,” Dr. Sok An said. He added that some companies have put up factories to process rice for export, and said that any investment in Cambodia’s agricultural sector is a plus. Farmers comprise 80 percent of Cambodia’s total population.
He welcomed increased U.S. investment and Washington’s assistance. In the first half of this year, Cambodia received more than $100 million in investments by U.S. companies, the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Dr. Sok An said that an estimated $200 million in assistance was provided by the U.S. over the last three years.
He also briefed the Ambassador about the situation along the border between Cambodia and Thailand, which is now much much better than during the term of the previous Thai government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Dr. Sok An recalled that the International Court of Justice decided on July 18, 2011 that both parties should immediately withdraw their military personnel from the provisional demilitarized zone, and that Thailand should not obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the Temple of Preah Vihear. Both countries should allow observers appointed by ASEAN to have access to the provisional demilitarized zone.