International relations

Women’s Affairs Minister Ing Kantha Phavi on Tuesday defended the government’s policies on promoting gender equality and preventing discrimination against women, but conceded that challenges remain in achieving principles set out in the U.N.’s convention to stop discrimination against women. Speaking in Geneva to the U.N. ...

Anti-logging activists wrote to the United Nations yesterday to call for the monitoring of a lawsuit in which they accuse hundreds of officials in Kampong Speu province’s Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary of illegal deforestation. The Natural Resource and Wildlife Preservation Organization (NRWPO) listed 241 officials it ...

On the morning of September 23, anti-eviction champion Tep Vanny was grappling with a legion of security guards blocking the entrance of the Daun Penh district offices while fellow protesters dismantled a razor-wire barricade nearby. The next day, she was on a plane to Washington ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen left Monday to attend the 23rd ASEAN summit as well as other related meetings in Brunei, said Srey Thamrong, a minister attached to Hun Sen. The summits held from October 9-10 will include the 23rd ASEAN Summit, 16th ASEAN-Japan Summit, 16th ...

The two-way trade between Cambodia and Japan has hit $503 million in the first eight months this year, up 24 percent over the same period last year, the figures from the Japan External Trade Organization said Tuesday. Cambodian exports to Japan rose 39 percent to $358 ...

Rights groups on Monday shared their concerns about the treatment of women in Cambodia with member states of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in Geneva. Cambodia last updated the committee—which meets three times a year to assess how member states ...

While fears have been raised over the imminent construction of the Don Sahong dam in Laos, environmentalists on Monday said Cambodia should not forget that it has a project of its own that would be equally as disastrous to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands ...

Cambodia’s GDP growth was projected to reach 7 percent in equivalent to 15.65 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 despite a challenging global economic environment, the World Bank said Monday. Overall macroeconomic outlook remains positive, having sustained agricultural growth, continued strong performance of the tourism sector, a ...

The World Bank said Monday that the impact of Cambodia’s political uncertainty was “unclear” but left its growth forecasts unchanged for this year and next year.  “The Cambodian economy remains robust amidst a challenging global economic environment,” the bank said in its East Asia and Pacific ...

The World Wildlife Fund, one of the biggest conservation groups, has called for an emergency meeting with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in the wake of Laos’ decision to proceed with a second dam on the river. There are fears that this move will seriously undermine ...

A move by the International Labour Organization to name and shame garment producers in Cambodia that flout workers’ rights and safety standards could damage the industry’s reputation and result in a drastic reduction in orders from buyers abroad, according to a senior manufacturing official. Last week, ...

Laos has notified the Mekong River Commission (MRC) that it will go ahead with the construction of the Don Sahong Dam, which environmentalists say could threaten the ecosystem of the Lower Mainstream Mekong and have a severe impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands ...

Officials, business professionals and political analysts have mixed opinions on the leadership of the single-party Cambodian government and what the future hold for the next five years. Sok Touch, a professor of political science at Khemarak University, said the political deadlock won’t help the nation become ...

After a five-year break, Lao Airlines will revive the Phnom Penh-Vientiane route with direct flights three times a week starting in November, the company’s representative said yesterday. Ek Narun, assistant to the general manager of Lao Airlines in Phnom Penh, said tickets will be available for ...

Cambodian housing rights activist Tep Vanny is in Washington this week, seeking to increase international pressure on Cambodian authorities to end forced evictions and find resolutions to longstanding land disputes. Tep Vanny, a housewife who has emerged as a leader for Cambodian victims of forced evictions, ...

Chongqing and Phnom Penh will become sister cities, after which it will be more convenient for those Chongqing enterprises to invest in Cambodia. Cambodia is an important trading partner for Chongqing and it has become one of the major countries for the development strategy of “going ...

Economists and analysts on Thursday shrugged off the opposition CNRP’s threat to stage nationwide labor strikes, arguing that while such a move could lower profits for companies in the short term, it would not significantly deter foreign investors. Mr. Rainsy, who mentioned the possibility of strikes ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Wednesday announced that his party could stage nationwide labor strikes in protest of disputed election results, and said the CNRP would begin an international campaign to make the CPP government a pariah state. “In the air is an idea of ...

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called for the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP to “work together” and repeated its call for a transparent review of irregularities in July’s national election. “The United States urges leaders of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the CNRP ...

U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi on Wednesday wrapped up his appearance before the Human Rights Council in Geneva with a vow to continue assisting Cambodia in improving its judicial system as NGOs provided withering testimony of the situation of rights in the country. A dialogue ...

Japan plans to relax visa requirements for Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos by the end of this year, as part of efforts to boost tourism to promote the country’s economic growth strategy, government sources said Wednesday. The government is considering allowing the issuance of “multiple-entry visas” for visitors ...

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says much work is still needed to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market for trade and development in 2015. Lee, head of the most advanced economy in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, ...

The Cambodian government on Monday issued a statement, warning foreign diplomats against interfering in the country’s internal affairs over the contested July 28 election that handed victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party. “Cambodia does not need to resort to laws from other countries. ...

The United States and the European Union on Monday urged Cambodia’s ruling and opposition parties to continue their dialogue towards electoral reforms and settlement of national problems. “The United States calls for a transparent review of irregularities in the July 28 national elections which would help ...