cambodia news

Cambodia to Mark Visak Bochea Day

PHNOM PENH, April 22-Cambodia is going to mark the Visak Bochea Day on April 28, as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death to Nivarna of Lord Buddha on one day, the first full moon day on April 28 this year.
The ceremony this year will be presided over by Samdech Heng Samrin, president of the National assembly and it conducted at Phnom Udong,” the statement from the national assembly said. Buddhists around the world will mark the same day.
This year also marks the Buddhist calendar year 2553.


Cambodia, East Timor Strengthen Economic and Political Affairs

PHNOM PENH, April 21-Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday discussed with East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta about strengthening bilateral bonds between the two Southeast Asia countries.
Both sides have discussed on expanding the cooperation on the economic, agricultural, political issues for mutual benefits of the two countries,” Mr Eang Sophalet, assistant to Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters after the two leaders’ talk at the Cambodian National Assembly.
Cambodia side will send a delegation of trade unit to East Timor to study potential issues for exporting Cambodian agricultural products to there, Mr. Eang noted. Mr. Horta also invited Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen to visit East Timor and Samdech will visit there in an appropriate time, Eang said.
Mr. Horta also asked Samdech to support East Timor as a new member of ASEAN in 2012 and Cambodian side will support the membership and urged East Timor to lobby other countries in ASEAN, Mr. Eang said.
ASEAN composed Brunei, Cambodian, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Philippines, and Laos.
Mr. Horta said today with Cambodian students in Phnom Penh downtown that his country will join ASEAN in 2012 if the political stability and economic growth of his country performed well in next few years.
We hope that Cambodia and other ASEAN countries will support us as a new and youngest membership of ASEAN.
Mr Horta arrived here to deliver his speech about building culture of peace under the organizing of international peace foundation.

U.S. Hospital Ship to Visit Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, April 20-The U.S. hospital ship named “Mercy” will depart its home port here on Saturday bound for Asia including Cambodia and a series of humanitarian missions this summer, the statement from the navy ship Mercy obtained on Tuesday said.
The ship, along with a contingent of military medical, dental and engineering personnel and civilian volunteer specialists, will travel to Cambodia, and other countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and Timor-Leste as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s “Pacific Partnership 2010” mission, 3rd Fleet officials in San Diego announced Monday. The ship will be arrived Cambodia soon.
Cambodia and The U.S. will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relation in July with many social and cultural events. Both sides also plan to conduct military training exercise soon with hundreds of soldiers from other countries to take part in this exercise.
Along with Mercy, two other Navy ships, which officials did not name, will join in humanitarian civic assistance missions in Palau and Papua New Guinea.
Mercy, a Military Sealift Command ship commanded by Merchant Marine Capt. David Bradshaw, will leave San Diego Naval Base on May 1 for the overall missions led by Capt. Lisa Franchetti, who commands Destroyer Squadron 21 in San Diego. Navy Capt. Jeffrey Paulson, a medical officer, will command the military treatment facility aboard Mercy.
The 894-long, 69,000-ton ship is a former oil tanker that was converted into a floating hospital. It is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, specialized laboratories, 12 operating rooms, an 80-bed intensive-care unit and enough beds to house 1,000 patients.
The deployment isn’t Mercy’s first aid mission in Southeast Asia. During a four-month 2008 deployment under the Pacific Partnership banner, medical personnel aboard the ship treated more than 90,000 patients in visits to the Philippines, Vietnam, Federated States of Micronesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.