National government

The government plans to create “cheque de vacances” or holiday vouchers by 2017 to encourage middle-income Cambodians to travel within the country, according to an official from the Ministry of Tourism yesterday. Chhay Khunlong, deputy director-general of tourism at the ministry, said holiday vouchers will enable ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert yesterday cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. ...

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned residents in six southwestern provinces to brace for possible floods during the final days of the Pchum Ben festival. According to an announcement posted on the ministry’s Facebook page yesterday, heavy rain from Saturday to Monday is expected ...

The Ministry of Environment signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday with two Chinese companies to study planting “Paulownia-Guotong” – an extremely fast-growing tree used to make furniture and wooden equipment – and practice growing it in Cambodia. Speaking at a workshop on a feasibility ...

Over 40 new mining licences were issued during the first half of the year to satisfy the high demand for construction materials by Cambodian infrastructure and real estate projects, while more than 100 licences were revoked due to environmental concerns or inactivity, a government official ...

Representatives for garment sector employers and employees will vote on Wednesday for their respective final proposals for the new minimum wage next year.​ Two weeks ago, members of the tripartite minimum wage negotiations began a series of meetings to discuss their various salary proposals. The Garment Manufacturers ...

Youth groups and environmental activists have requested the government release the latest documents concerning the proposed Sambo hydroelectric dam in Kratie province, amid lingering concerns of the possible environmental damage the dam may cause. The dam, if constructed, will be the largest in the country and ...

Beginning this year, the Education Ministry will hand over management of 625 primary schools, 4,874 teachers and over 170,000 students to 14 districts in Battambang as part of a new initiative to decentralise and improve primary education. The districts will also absorb the management of ...

From now on, only certain sub-decrees will need to be pored over by the cabinet before they are signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the premier told a session of the cabinet on Friday morning, although failing to specify what the selection criteria would be. Mr. ...

Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn defended the government before the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Saturday, saying that the ruling party was being held to unrealistic expectations of a “perfect democracy” while the opposition was “committing very serious crimes.” Delivering his first major address to ...

The 2018 national population census will be pushed back a year in order to focus on the 2018 national elections, the government announced on Friday. According to article 6 of the Statistics Law, the census must be conducted at least once every 10 years, with the ...

The Ministry of National Defense announced on Friday that it is seeking more than 400 candidates to join the military in 2017. The announcement stated that the ministry was seeking both male and female candidates to work in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF). Candidates must have ...

As rice farmers struggle to cope with the aftereffects of one of the worst droughts in Cambodia’s recent history and moribund infrastructure makes it difficult to transport and sell their products across the country, universities here and in the United States are joining forces to ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) and all political parties should urge citizens – including those overseas – to register to vote, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday, even as a prominent opposition lawmaker accused the government of offering “nothing” to enfranchise Cambodia’s thousands of migrant workers. ...

Cambodian factories manufactured industrial products worth $5.3 billion during the first seven months of 2016, according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft.​ ...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is willing to offer assistance in future prison building projects, and in the preparation of prison management policies that are in line with international standards, the National Police website said on Tuesday. According to the website, the ICRC ...

In the midst of annual minimum wage negotiations, Minister of Labour Ith Samheng used a visit from members of the Southeast Asian Youth Programme to reiterate that the minimum wage for garment workers would reach at least $160 a month by 2018, state media reported. ...

Twenty Cham villagers from Kratie province’s Snuol district yesterday visited the Ministry of Land Management and Urban Planning to demand authorities resolve their community’s seven-year-old land dispute with two rubber companies. ...

For the third year in row, students scoring an A on Cambodia’s high-stakes Grade 12 exit exam were granted an audience with Prime Minister Hun Sen and lavished with gifts, while the Ministry of Education came in for its own accolades on reforms that are ...

Two new power plants are being planned for Cambodia, a $167 million garbage-fueled plant for Phnom Penh, and an $89 million solar plant for Siem Reap province, the tourism ministry announced. In a statement on the ministry’s Facebook page yesterday, the ministry unveiled plans for the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen, speaking at the inauguration of a hospital in Phnom Penh yesterday, called on the Ministry of Health, the public and those who have recently travelled abroad to take precautionary measures to prevent Zika from reaching the Kingdom. ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday confirmed it would construct a new national facility to rehabilitate child offenders. The news follows a meeting last Thursday when spokesman Touch Channy told attendees that the new centre to detain juvenile offenders would be built following the recent adoption ...

Cambodia’s first experimental farm and research centre for potato cultivation opened yesterday as experts confirmed that the Kingdom’s soils are suitable for the starchy tuber – raising hopes that local crops could one day satisfy the fast-food cravings that have put potatoes in high demand. ...

The long-awaited railroad between Phnom Penh and Bangkok moved one step closer to completion yesterday after tracks on the Cambodian side were connected to those in Thailand. The Poipet-Phnom Penh rail line was joined to the Bangkok-Sa Kaeo line during a ceremony at the international border ...