Remarks
His Excellency Dr. SOK An, Deputy Prime
Minister,
Minister in charge of the Office of the
Council of Ministers and
President of the APSARA National
Authority
At the Signing Ceremony of
the Agreement between the Royal
Government of Cambodia
and
UNESCO on Safeguarding of the Angkor Wat
Temple, Phase II
Phnom Penh, 06 September2012
-
Her Excellency Mrs. Anne LEMAISTRE, UNESCO
Representative in
Cambodia,
-
Professor Valter Maria Santoro,
-
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have great pleasure and honour to participate in today’s
signing ceremony of the Agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and
UNESCO on “Safeguarding of the Angkor Wat Temple,
Phase II”.
On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, I would like to extend my deepest
thanks to
the Government and people of Italy
for their generous assistance to the socio-economic development of Cambodia, particularly
in regard to the safeguarding and restoration of Cambodian Cultural Heritage. My
sincere appreciation goes to Professor Valter Maria Santoro for his contributions
to Angkor. I would also like to extend my gratitude to UNESCO and our
other partners for their active involvement in
this field.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Angkor was first inscribed on the World
Heritage in Danger List in 1992 and in 1993 the International Coordinating
Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor
(ICC-Angkor) was established to protect, preserve and develop this vast
cultural heritage site. Since its inception, the ICC-Angkor and the Royal Government
of Cambodia, with assistance from and in close cooperation with other countries
and international organizations, have been successfully working on the
preservation and development of the Angkor World Heritage Site, including the Angkor Wat
Temple. As a result, in
2004, Angkor was removed from the World Heritage
in Danger List.
In
addition to preserving, safeguarding and developing Angkor, the ICC-Angkor has
proved to be a vibrant forum for the exchanges of ideas, information and
experience; encompassing environment and forestry protection; and community-based
development. I am particularly pleased to acknowledge that the Director-General
of UNESCO told the World Heritage Committee that the ICC-Angkor is a successful
model for safeguarding heritage sites in other parts of the world with its concept
of close cooperation between governments, international institutions and
UNESCO. Thanks to the excellent role and effective work of the ICC-Angkor, the Royal
Government of Cambodia today collaborates with 14 countries from four
continents and 28 international teams in implementing over 60 different projects.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this
special occasion, I would like to review briefly the achievements made by the
Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of Italy in safeguarding Angkor. The Italian Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor was
established in 1994, through the Italian Funds-in-Trust. In the framework of
this cooperation, we made remarkable achievements with the Pre Rup Project-Phase
I from 1994-1999, the Pre Rup Project-Phase II from 1999-2001 and the Pre Rup Project-Phase
III from 2001-2005, amounting to the sum of almost 2 million US dollars.
This cooperation was continued with the “Safeguarding of
Angkor Wat, Phase I”, from 2005-2011, during which time the Royal Government of
Cambodia directly contributed 56,000 US dollars, and for which the Government
of Italy contributed 565,000 US dollars for the restoration of the West Bakan, the
cruciform terrace and the west embankment moat of the Angkor Wat Temple. Indeed,
with this step in 2005, the Royal Government of Cambodia embarked on full
partnership with the international community at the World Heritage Site of
Angkor.
As already stated by Ms. Anne Lemaistre, UNESCO
Representative in Cambodia, this cooperation with the Italian Government and
UNESCO now goes back almost 20 years, and the ceremony today is very
significant, as it takes place in the year in which we will celebrate the 20th
Anniversary of the inscription of the Site of Angkor. The Royal Government of
Cambodia is very proud to be able to celebrate this event in December 2012 during
the 19th Plenary Session of the ICC-Angkor, the framework set up by
the Governments of Japan and France which facilitates all this international
cooperation. This celebration will also lead to others in 2013 when the
ICC-Angkor itself will mark its own 20th Anniversary coinciding with
the hosting of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee by
the Royal Government of Cambodia.
Today’s signing
ceremony of the Agreement on “Safeguarding
of the Angkor Wat Temple,
Phase II” signifies a further cooperation between the Royal Government
of Cambodia and UNESCO. For this new Phase, the
Government of Italy will contribute 200,000 US dollars, and the Royal Government
of Cambodia will provide 50,000 US dollars through the APSARA National
Authority.
To conclude, I
would like once again to express my profound appreciation to the Government and
people of Italy 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 are contributing to the safeguarding
of Cambodia’s
World Heritage Sites.
Finally, I wish your
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen good health, success and happiness.
Thank you!