International relations

Cambodia hopes to see Japanese investment in the light industry sector, which will help develop the kingdom’s labor force. Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak, in a meeting last week with Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Hidehisa Horinouchi, asked Japan to consider investing in the light industry sector. ...

Cambodian farmers may be able to cut export costs from the middle of the year if an agreement is signed letting them send their produce through the Thai port of Laem Chabang. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and Lao President Bounnhang Vorachith met yesterday at the inauguration of a checkpoint on the border between both countries, subsequently reaching an agreement to allow residents on both sides to cross freely with only a special border pass. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen joined his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith for a visit to the site of the controversial Don Sahong Dam just across the border on Tuesday, remarking that the trip was a reminder of Laos’ commitment to improving the livelihoods of Cambodians. ...

Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam’s visit to Phnom Penh on Monday yielded two agreements on education and health, but no words on controversial sand imports or migrant maids, an official said. ...

Officials were tight-lipped yesterday about whether huge discrepancies in sand exports to Singapore would be discussed during a visit by the city-state’s president to the Kingdom later this week, though a Ministry of Mines official said a new export process was in the works. ...

The National Defense Ministry’s annual draft report showed that Cambodia’s borders are still at risk of abuse from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, despite the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) cracking down on nearly 6,000 border crimes over the past year. ...

Terminal facilities, a road connecting to National Road 5 and a bridge linking Stung Bot in Cambodia with Ban Nong Ian in Thailand will begin construction next year. The entirety of the bridge, including Cambodia’s side, will be constructed by Thailand, according to Va Sim Soriya, ...

A major eight-day military exercise between Cambodian and Chinese troops will commence today at the Thlok Tasek Military Institute in Kampong Speu’s Phnom Sruoch district. Code named “Golden Dragon”, the manoeuvres will see soldiers from the two countries participating in myriad exercises including emergency road repairs ...

A more than hour-long meeting between Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, making his first-ever visit to Cambodia, and Prime Minister Hun Sen ended yesterday afternoon with an aide to the premier offering reporters the typical avowals of “cooperation”. But while the state visit – which included ...

Thailand will provide a train engine to Cambodia for the transport of goods and tourists between the two countries, according to a government official. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made the promise to provide the train engine in response to efforts to increase trade and tourists ...

China is considering setting up an industrial zone in Cambodia and says it will announce new areas of cooperation with Asean nations in line with Cambodia’s industrial development policy. The issues were discussed on Saturday when Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak met Xu Ningning, executive president of ...

The government will offer three-year, multiple-entry visas to Chinese and South Korean investors in an effort to make doing business easier and increase investment in the Kingdom, the premier said during the first Cambodia-China Business and Financial Development Forum in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has said he believes Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recent push to convert the maps of Cambodia’s border with Vietnam to a scale of 1:50,000 and a UTM-style map projection would not require a constitutional amendment. ...

Cambodia will support the Don Sahong hydroelectric dam planned to be built in south Laos less than two kilometers from the Cambodian border, while civil society groups continue to appeal to regional authorities to halt construction on environmental grounds. ...

Just weeks after Laos announced its plans to begin constructing a third mainstream dam in the Lower Mekong River region, Prime Minister Hun Sen used a bilateral meeting with his Laotian counterpart to signal that the controversial Don Sahong dam will no longer receive opposition ...

In an effort to assist the contentious demarcation of the Cambodia-Vietnam border, the leaders of the two countries have agreed to seek French assistance, as Prime Minister Hun Sen again repeated calls for Vietnam to halt construction in border areas. Mr. Hun Sen and his Vietnamese ...

As business mogul and reality television personality Donald Trump was announced as the next president of the United States yesterday, Cambodian political figures called for continued good relations. Shortly after president-elect Trump gave his victory speech in New York yesterday afternoon, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, ...

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. ...

US presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are now on barnstorming tours across the country, making their final appeals to swing voters ahead of next Tuesday’s election. Democratic candidate Ms. Clinton has received an overwhelming number of endorsements from a variety of places, including French ...

Both Cambodia and Thailand agreed on Tuesday to adopt an approach of nonviolence when dealing with those found illegally crossing the border after a meeting between the two nations’ border authorities. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday again ordered Kandal provincial authorities to stop residents from leasing land to Vietnamese farmers, repeating a similar demand from in August. ...

Minister in Charge of Border Affairs Var Kimhong yesterday moved to quash the latest outbreak of rumours that National Assembly President Heng Samrin’s native village of Thlok Trach would be given to Vietnam in a land swap. ...

The US and Royal Cambodian Navy joined forces yesterday for the opening ceremony of the seventh annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training (CARAT) exercise at Ream Naval Base, a joint maritime training exercise that since 2010 has aimed to increase cooperation and strengthen security at sea ...