PHNOM PENH,
Jan. 31, 2012 – His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An said
Cambodia has high potential in rice production, tourism and other fields.
Therefore investment from Indonesia in rice planting or commercial direct
flights is welcome.
In a meeting
Tuesday, Dr. Sok An, Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of
Ministers, told H.E. Soehardjono Sastromihardjo, Ambassador of the Republic of
Indonesia to the Kingdom of Cambodia, that Cambodia has a surplus of 3.5
million tonnes of rice for 2010/11.
The
Indonesian Ambassador thanked Dr. Sok An for his support for future Indonesian
investment.
Indonesia is
the world’s largest rice producer and consumer. The country has been importing
rice from Vietnam, Thailand and India.
“We are
diversifying our import of rice from India, so Cambodia is an important source
of rice”, Mr. Soehardjono Sastromihardjo told Dr. Sok An.
The
Ambassador said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has talked
with Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen about bilateral trade and investment,
planned to send a minister to visit Cambodia in the next two months to talk
about bilateral cooperation.
“If we have
investment in rice here, maybe we can export rice from Cambodia”, the diplomat
said.
The Deputy
Prime Minister told the Ambassador that the last year’s flood also has a
positive impact on Cambodia’s rice because it brought fertility to the rice
fields and farmers began early harvesting as the water receded.
“Our real
strength is to export 1 million tonnes of milled rice”, he said, referring to
the Royal Government’s policy of exporting rice of 1 million tonnes by 2015.
Also
Cambodia’s tourism has risen sharply in recent years. Just in Siemreap
province, the home of Angkor, tourist arrivals increased more than 25 percent.
Cambodia
received 2.88 million tourist arrivals in 2011 and expects an increase of
around 14 percent in 2012, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
Last week
Cambodia allowed Cebu Pacific Air to operate direct flights from Manila to Siemreap
beginning in early April, a move that will boost tourism for both countries.
So if there
were direct flights from Indonesian islands like Bali or Java that would boost
tourism for both countries, the Deputy Prime Minister told the Ambassador.
Cambodia is
ready to facilitate direct flights as part of the government’s open sky policy
and to attract more investment and tourists from Indonesia to the Kingdom of
Wonder, he said.
“We learn
from South Korea. Once the tourists come, other sectors will follow”, said Dr.
Sok An.
The Deputy
Prime Minister also welcomed Indonesia in the telecoms sector.
Dr. Sok An
said that Cambodia is also pushing for the implementation of the International
Court of Justice decision on 18 July that referring to “Thailand shall not
obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the Temple of Preah Vihear or Cambodia’s
provision of fresh supplies to its non-military personnel in the Temple”.
The Court
decided that both parties should immediately withdraw their military personnel
from a provisional demilitarised zone and refrain from any military presence
within it and from any armed activity directed at it.
The Court
ordered Thailand and Cambodia to cooperate within Association of South-East
Asian nations (ASEAN) and, in particular, to allow ASEAN observers to access
the provisional demilitarised zone.
The
Indonesian Ambassador assured Dr. Sok An that Jakarta is ready to support Phnom
Penh as rotating chair of the 10-country ASEAN for 2012.
“Indonesia
is very happy to support Cambodia”, said the Ambassador.
H.E.
Soehardjono Sastromihardjo also requested, for Strategic Review magazine, an
exclusive interview and photographs with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the ASEAN
summit in April. Dr. Sok An said that that Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo
Hun Sen is quite busy at work, but he would pass on the request to the Prime
Minister’s office and see what the response will be.
The magazine
has interviewed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Thai Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and other leaders.