Ministries and other national bodies

Kampot pepper, a Cambodian product that got geographical indication (IG) certification from the European Union, is expected to yield 80 matrix tons for the markets by this year. ...

The joint cabinet meeting between Cambodia and Thailand next month will exclude discussions on the Phnom Penh-Bangkok rail link, leaving the exact date of its launch in limbo. ...

The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation into the opposition CNRP’s funding sources after the government-aligned Fresh News website posted a leaked document purporting to show that the party received funds from a foreign organisation. ...

The Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction yesterday promised to settle land disputes between villagers and sugar companies granted economic land concessions in Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Preah Vihear provinces. Minister Chea Sophara made the promise after an inter-ministerial meeting at his office ...

Cambodia and New Zealand have reached a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving agricultural productivity to increase food safety and reduce reliance on imports. ...

The Interior Ministry has filed a Supreme Court complaint requesting the dissolution of nine political parties accused of flouting their obligations under the Law on Political Parties. ...

Three local NGOs are to request a meeting with the Interior Minister to discuss the granting of ID cards to Kampuchea Krom people living in Cambodia. ...

Ten representatives of 143 indigenous families affected by the development of the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province gathered yesterday to submit a petition to the Interior Ministry and the Prime Minister’s cabinet. ...

The Cambodia National Rescue Party sent a letter on Monday to Interior Minister Sar Kheng asking for clarification on a recently amended prakas that now requires eligible voters to get a police verification letter before a commune chief can attest to their place of residence, ...

Cambodia and Vietnam vowed to boost cooperation to prevent cross-border drug trafficking during the nations’ annual meeting yesterday. Lieutenant General Mak Chito, deputy National Police commissioner in charge of drug crimes, and Ngo Thai Dung, director of Drug Crime Prevention at the Vietnamese Defence Ministry, met ...

The Ministry of Tourism has been training and strengthening the capacity of  tour guides in Preah Sihanouk province, with help from leaders of provincial coastal tourism departments and 80 participants from universities and institutions in the province. ...

Nine eggs of the globally endangered white-winged duck have successfully hatched after a nest was found last month in Preah Vihear province’s Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the Industry Ministry and the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to repay customers after a technical blunder led to big water bills. ...

Telecommunication operators are being pushed to develop connecting telecommunication infrastructure to enable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) connectivity from urban to rural areas. ...

Representatives of holdout families who are refusing to evacuate two Stung Treng province villages that will be flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam traveled to Phnom Penh to petition the Mines and Energy Ministry for help on Friday. ...

Cambodia has suggested that the US review its Generalised System of Preference for Duty-Free and Quota Free (GSP-DFQF) granted to the kingdom, as a less developed country, in order for its exports to have better preferential access to the North American market. ...

A cabinet meeting on Friday amended several articles of the fisheries law to limit the use of narrow fishing nets and introduce licences for some mechanised equipment. ...

Preah Sihanouk Provincial environmental officials and Military Police yesterday dismantled five homes that were built illegally in the Prey Toeksap Kbal Chhay protected area, leaving the inhabitants homeless. ...

Out of 600 prisoners at Kampong Thom prison 18 may have their sentences reduced by six to 12 months for the upcoming Water Festival in November. ...

The US State Department has expressed deep concern over Cambodia’s spiralling democratic climate following the government’s diktat to shutter the USAID-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI), ostensibly for violating the highly contentious NGO Law. ...

In Svay Rieng province’s Bati commune, electricity poles and wires sprung up five years ago in Thnanh village but power still has not run through them, leaving villagers reliant upon batteries and most recently, solar panels. ...

Preah Sihanouk’s governor yesterday attributed the slow progress in combating private encroachment into ecologically sensitive mangrove and coastal regions to a “careful” approach, after the prime minister on Tuesday chided officials for failing to tackle the issue since it was raised more than a year ...

A Khmer-Vietnamese Association representative in Ratanakkiri yesterday denied that illegally logged timber confiscated from the group’s office in Tes Anglong village on Tuesday belonged to the association. ...

Eighteen Cambodian migrant workers were repatriated from Malaysia this week after being cheated by brokers to work abroad illegally, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said yesterday. ...