Closing Remarks
by
His
Excellency Dr. SOK An, Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister
in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers
Chairman
of the Council of Board of Engineers Cambodia
High
Representative of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HUN SEN
Prime
Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Honorary President of the Council of the
Board of Engineers Cambodia
At
the Closing of the 30th Conference of ASEAN Federation of
Engineering Organizations
Phnom Penh, 19 December 2012
3
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H.E.
PRAK Min, Chairman of CAFEO-30,
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Prof. Dato' Paduka Ir Hj Keizrul Abdullah, Secretary General of AFEO,
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Mr.
Chook Kok Beng, Head Commissioner of ASEAN Engineers Register,
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Excellencies,
Vice-Chairmen and Members of the Council
of the Board of Engineers Cambodia,
-
Chairmen
and Delegates of Engineering Institutions of the ASEAN Member Countries,
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National
and International Distinguished Guests,
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Excellencies,
Ladies, and Gentlemen,
Today, I have the pleasure to participate with Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen in the
closing ceremony of the 30th Conference of the ASEAN
Federation of Engineering Organizations (CAFEO), under the theme: “Advantage of the Integration of Engineering
Services for Least-Developed ASEAN Member Countries”.
On
behalf of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei
Techo HUN SEN, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, I wish to express
my warm welcome and appreciation to the delegates of the ASEAN Federation of
Engineering Organizations (AFEO) from all the ASEAN member countries and other
distinguished participants for spending their valuable time attending this conference.
Taking this opportunity, on behalf of the Council of the Board of Engineers Cambodia,
I wish to highly value the efforts of the Board of Engineers Cambodia for hosting
this important conference. This event is the evidence signifying the spirits of
solidarity and close cooperation among engineers of all fields in the region.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
The
ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations (AFEO) plays an important role in
contributing to realizing the ASEAN Economic Community by promoting the
integration of the region, interactions among engineers and skilled labor
mobility, especially by facilitating and providing engineers from least
developed ASEAN member states with the equal opportunity to practice their
professions in the ASEAN bloc, in accordance with the direction of service liberalization
in the region and in the world. The Conference of the ASEAN Federation of
Engineering Organizations (CAFEO) is the forum for AFEO members to exchange and
share their experiences in engineering services in their respective countries,
as well as in ASEAN region as a whole. Cambodia is honored once again to host the
conference attended by many engineering experts and national and international notable
participants.
The
topics presented during the two-day conference were of significance. Of the
topics presented, one is on the issues of flooding faced by many countries in
the region and in the world, which needs to be addressed in order to ensure the
sustainability of livelihoods of human-beings. Engineering can serve as an
effective solution to floods, in particular in the context of climate change.
Floods have been viewed as one of the deadliest natural disasters and are foreseen
to become more serious, owing to unabated climate change. Therefore, appropriate
strategies for flood management need to be formulated, both individually and
collectively.
This
conference shared experiences with respect to physical infrastructure
development and endeavors to develop the engineering sector, with engineering
institutions playing an important part. With cooperation among AFEO members,
the conference recognized the significance of the cooperation in engineering
development, with one particular suggestion on developing Cooperation Framework
facing ASEAN 2015 Free Trade Area in Engineering Services; took account of
building partnership with private sector and developing partners for
implementing regional projects; and encouraged
the promotion of an integrated engineering service for infrastructure
development, as well as harmonization of laws and policies relevant to service
liberalization.
In
addition, the conference also presented and exchanged concepts and important
findings for sustainable development. Presentations and deliberations by
experts aimed primarily at enhancing social welfare, focusing on interesting
topics related to the management of energy and mineral resources, environmental
management, development of professions and infrastructure development, especially
road networks in cities and rural areas. The technical results shown would
contribute to generating ideas on which the drawing up of policies and action
plans can be based for the development of each country, on a path toward ASEAN
community ahead.
The
conference also put an emphasis on the facilitation for engineers of the least
developed countries to contribute to the development of their respective
countries. To this end, engineers should be qualified in order for them to successfully
compete in the regional labor market once the ASEAN community is realized. In
this regard, all engineers, in particular engineers from the least developed ASEAN
member countries, are encouraged to improve their technical capacity in terms
of knowledge and know-how more broadly.
Engineers
can be regarded as bridges linking technology to society. In this sense,
engineers should actively engage in experience sharing with one another to
improve their knowledge, both theoretically and practically. Under the ASEAN Mutual
Recognition Arrangement on Engineering Services, I strongly believe that
engineers of all ASEAN countries will have the chance to work and learn from
each other in order to strengthen their capacity, and to promote socio-economic
development, as well as to improve harmonization in the region as one ASEAN
family.
On
behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Council of the Board of
Engineers Cambodia, I would like to strongly encourage closer cooperation among
engineers from member countries to place more focus on engineering research and
dissemination of its results, collection and compilation of documents, aiming
at improving their expertise, technical and professional capacity. I also wish
to encourage the AFEO to continue to further promote the culture of sharing in
order for the bloc’s engineers to meet the international standard and to catch
up with the scientific development of rich countries.
Once again, I would like to take this
opportunity to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to the Board of
Engineers Cambodia, in collaboration with the AFEO for successfully organizing this
30th Conference, which helps well prepare engineers for a deeper regional
integration and an increased globalization.
Finally, I wish all AFEO delegates, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen good health, great success and happiness, and fruitful
cultural experience in Angkor for those who plan to further explore Cambodia.
I now declare the closing of the 30th
Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations.
Thank you!