National government

Civil society members and Ministry of Mines and Energy officials came together recently to discuss discrepancies in the export figures of sand from Cambodia to Singapore, after 47 NGOs wrote an open letter early this month to the ministry seeking an explanation. The letter from civil ...

Cambodia is considering adopting an aviation tax for flights leaving the Kingdom, local media reported yesterday. The announcement came as Environment Minister Say Samal delivered remarks at the COP22 UN Climate Conference in Morocco. The conference comes one year after the historic signing of the Paris ...

CNRP vice president Kem Sokha will next week leave the safety of the opposition’s headquarters in Phnom Penh for only the second time since police attempted to arrest him six months ago, with a party official saying he plans to attend Tuesday’s sitting of parliament. ...

A mobile laboratory that will be able to analyze food samples at markets around the country was launched by the Ministry of Commerce yesterday, at the same time the ministry announced it was seeking Chinese support in building testing facilities at land borders to analyze ...

Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) MPs are to end their boycott of parliament, saying the national interest takes priority.The boycott started in May after security forces tried to arrest deputy party leader Kem Sokha after he refused to attend court for questioning over an alleged ...

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron has unveiled a plan to add coursework on entrepreneurship to the school and university curricula starting in the next academic year, state news agency AKP said yesterday. ...

Ongoing land disputes between the Ministry of Land Management and the owner of development firm Phanimex are influencing White Building residents’ decision on whether to relocate or stay, according to Land Management Minister Chea Sophara. ...

The Kingdom’s total exports to Japan, one of the world’s largest economies, sharply increased in the first nine months of the year, a result of Cambodia’s effort to diversify export markets and preferential trade treatment from Japan. ...

The Ministry of Land Management is to create a committee to plan and review development of Phnom Penh’s iconic White Building. Meanwhile, the sale or transfer of ownership of the building has been blocked temporarily for the committee to collect details of the people living there. ...

The United Kingdom’s bilateral trade dealing with Cambodia will remain unchanged in light of ongoing negotiations on the UK’s position within the European Union, a senior British trade official said yesterday. ...

Cambodian ministries are currently facing a $620 million funding shortfall if they are to implement their climate change adaption action plans by 2018, according to figures announced by NGO Forum at a press conference yesterday. ...

Last month’s purchase by Singapore-listed KrisEnergy of a 42.75 percent working interest in the Block A offshore energy concession made them a majority owner in the project, with an overwhelming control of 95 percent of the stakes. This acquisition is expected to accelerate the development ...

A new customs and immigration terminal is planned at the Poipet International Border Gate in Banteay Meanchey province, on the Cambodian side of the common border with Thailand, to cater to an expected increase of foreign tourists when the railway linking both countries is completed ...

The ban on surrogate pregnancies announced by the health minister on Monday will remain in place until the government drafts a law protecting Cambodian women giving birth to the children of other parents, an official said on Thursday. ...

Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction is preparing to host a construction seminar next week that will discuss the criteria for issuing building permits and also tackle problems related to construction site management. ...

Reduced fees for the loading of containers of milled rice for export, fixed for the next two years, came into effect on Tuesday as part of government efforts to boost the rice sector’s global competitiveness. According to a letter signed by Economy Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, dated ...

Illegal sand dredging has been eradicated from Cambodia, but reforms are still needed, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said on Wednesday, facing mounting blowback over sand export records that differ by tens of millions of cubic meters from those kept by the U.N. ...

The government announced yesterday that it will hold its first public auction for 4G spectrum frequencies, with two licences up for bid on frequencies reassigned after their original licence-holders failed to utilise them. ...

Several of the opposition-led commissions in the National Assembly have plans to summon three ministers to clarify several ongoing issues, including the sand exports to Singapore and the murder of political analyst Kem Ley. During a Tuesday evening press conference at the Cambodia National Rescue Party ...

The health minister has banned surrogate pregnancy arrangements in the country, putting the brakes on what appeared to be a quickly expanding—if controversial—industry. The move comes just days after the justice minister called for the practice to be outlawed. ...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been asked to investigate cases of mistreatment of Cambodian migrant workers imprisoned in foreign jails, the Foreign Ministry announced this week. ...

Agriculture officials and struggling smallholder tobacco farmers are cautiously hopeful that tariff exemptions granted under a new trade agreement with Vietnam will lift sagging demand for their crops. ...

Cambodia is overcoming “ineffective practices” and should not be held to the standards of developed countries, a Commerce Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday amid renewed calls for the government to investigate over $400 million in unrecorded sand exports to Singapore. ...

Four Cambodian products – Kampot salt, Phnom Srok silk of Banteay Meanchey province, fragrant milled rice from Battambang province and Kampot durian – could be given geographical indication (GI) status by the European Union (EU), said a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce and ...