Remarks
Excellency Dr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and
President of the APSARA Authority
at the Signing Ceremony of
The Agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and
UNESCO on Safeguarding of the Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom, Phase
IV
Excellency Dr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and
President of the APSARA Authority
at the Signing Ceremony of
The Agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and
UNESCO on Safeguarding of the Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom, Phase
IV
Phnom Penh, 13 February 2012
- Excellency Masafumi KUROKI, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia,
- Mr. Philippe DELANGHE, Representative of HE Mrs. Anne LEMAISTRE, UNESCO Representative in Cambodia,
- Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I
have the great pleasure to participate in today's signing ceremony of
the Agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and UNESCO on "Safeguarding of the Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom, Phase IV".
On
behalf of the Royal Government and People of Cambodia, I would like to
extend my deepest thanks to the Government and People of Japan for their
generous assistance to the socio-economic development of Cambodia,
particularly the safeguarding and restoration of Cambodian Cultural
Heritage. I would also like to extend my gratitude to UNESCO and the
other partners for their active involvement in this field.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Angkor
was first inscribed in the World Heritage in Danger List in 1992. In
1993, the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and
Development of the Historical Sites of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) was
established to protect, preserve and develop the cultural heritage
sites. Since its inception, the ICCAngkor and the Government of
Cambodia, with the assistance from and in cooperation with other
countries and international organizations, have been successfully
working on the preservation and development of Angkor World Heritage
Site, including the Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom. As a result, Angkor was
removed from the World Heritage in Danger List in 2004.
In
addition to preservation, safeguarding and development of Angkor, the
ICCAngkor has been proving to be a forum for idea, information and
experience exchange; environment and forestry protection; and
community-based development. I am pleased to acknowledge that UNESCO
Director-General told the World Heritage Committee that the ICC-Angkor
had become a successful model to safeguard the heritage site in order
parts of the world where the concept of the close cooperation between
the government, international institutions and UNESCO is needed. Thanks
to the excellent role of the ICC-Angkor, the Royal Government of
Cambodia today works together with 16 countries from 4 continents and 28
International Organizations in implementing over 60 projects.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Taking this opportunity, I would
like to highlight the achievements between the Royal Government of
Cambodia and the Government of Japan in safeguarding Angkor,
particularly Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom. In this regard, the Japanese
Team for Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA) was established in 1994, and later
renamed as the Japanese-APSARA Team for Safeguarding of Angkor (JASA),
through the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of Cultural
Property. In the framework of this cooperation, we have had remarkable
achievements which are as follows:
- Phase I from 1994-1999 : The Japanese Government contributed 5.000.000 USD for restoration of North Library of Bayon Temple
- Phase II from 2000-2005 : The Japanese Government contributed 5.000.000 USD for restoration of Towers I and II of Sour Prat Temple and Northern Library of Angkor Wat Temple
-
Phase III from 2006-2011: The Japanese Government contributed
closed to 4.000.000 USD and the Royal Government of Cambodia, through
APSARA Funds, shared about 500,000 USD for restoration of Southern
Library of Bayon Temple, research on the stability of structure of
Central Tower of Bayon Temple and preservation of bas-relief of the
Bayon's inner gallery.
In addition, today's signing ceremony of the Agreement on "Safeguarding of the Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom, Phase IV" signifies
further cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia and
UNESCO. For this new Phase, the Japanese Government will contribute
2.500.000 USD and the Government of Cambodia will share 500,000 USD
through APSARA Funds.
To
conclude, I would like to once again express my profound appreciation
to the Government and People of Japan for their close cooperation and
ongoing support in safeguarding Angkor as well as in contributing to the
socio-economic development of Cambodia. My deep gratitude also goes to
UNESCO, other friendly countries and partners who make their hard work
and contributions to the safeguarding of Cambodian World Heritage Sites.
Finally, I wish Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen good health, success and your family's happiness.
Thank you!