Works Accomplished for Southern “Rising Star” and Tourism
I am so happy this evening to be able to join with all of you to celebrate this round 2 and 8th sea festival which clearly illustrates progresses we have realized together under the roof of our hard-won peace. Let me take this moment to welcome provinces and institutions taking parts in the exhibitions. The sea festival has indeed become a national movement. I also welcome Excellencies Ambassadors, charge d’Affairs, and foreign friends for taking their time to be present here with us […]
My warm welcome to artists and performers from Cambodia and foreign countries for displaying their works and skills to audiences here and on live TV broadcast […] many works accomplished in the framework of the Kompot province and provinces along the sea, where we termed the southwestern “rising star” of Cambodia in particular, and tourism of Cambodia as a whole […]
Development Came to Kompot in 2008
I am taking this opportune moment to make my note on progresses made by the province of Kompot, which we have considered one of the provinces that development came late […] in 2007, I came to the province of Kompot to oversee the rescue mission of a plane crash incident near the mount of Bokor. I stayed in the same old building where I used to stay with HE Cham Prasidh back in 1985, and between 1988 and 1989 […] in 2006, I came standing at the Durian roundabout as Kompot went under flood. What really impressed us is that from 2008 to the present, Kompot has acquired certain development and proved to be one among many provinces with plenty of potentials […]
So Much to Prove Kompot in Development
What we have in Kompot, other provinces may not have is salt, which is for the whole country. We used to spend millions of USD to purchase construction materials from abroad. As of now, from Kompot, we put sex million tons of cement in the country saving hundreds of thousands of USD. I also noticed the black pepper of Kompot in the exhibition the other day in Phnom Penh. This clearly affirms that people in Kompot are making incomes. A hydropower plant in Kompot also provide electricity not only to Kompot province itself but also to Phnom Penh and other areas. Many sky-high buildings are standing up and I have so much to count to prove to you that Kompot is advancing […]
Kompot Scored Real Peace in 1996
We may not forget that it was until 1996 that Kompot realized real peace. What the Paris Peace Agreement wanted for Cambodia, UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia) could not realize after they spent roughly two billion USD. They left Cambodia with two ruling areas and armed forces. Conflict continued not only along the Cambodian-Thai border but also deeper inside the country, Kompot included. You may have remembered the tragedy in which three foreign tourists – a French, an Australian and a British were killed at Phnom Voar […] it was until 1996, Kompot realized full peace through implementation of win-win policy. I came to Ta Kaen Koh Sla to witness the integration, then […]
Prohibition of Seaweed Planting and Sand Pumping Keep Sea Resources
Just now, I was attracted by protection area under sea. I am calling in the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment to inspect natural resources on the seabed […] I have objected requests to grow seaweeds in Cambodian sea – Kompot, Preah Sihaniuk, Kep, etc. […] I always asked those who requested a question would allowing seaweed planting obstruct people from fishing activities? […] my question has indeed kept natural resources in the sea, on seafloor and seabed. In addition to this, I also object sand pumping in the sea. It has definitely preserved sea natures. About 7,000 hectare, I just asked, are under sea grasses and many other ocean resources. They are sources attracting scuba diving tourists […]
6.6 Million Tourists Arrived in 2019
Cambodia has plenty of scarce resources. Our economy does not depend solely on any one sector alone and tourism does not depend on ancient temples alone too. We have sea, rivers, lakes, forests and mountains that attracts tourists as well. Provinces along the sea do not have ancient temples but they have beautiful beaches attracting local and foreign tourists. Those far from sea have beautiful ancient temples, forests, lakes, mountains, etc. […] a part of economic growth came from service sector, where tourism, the green gold as HE Thaong Khon said it, has become gradually a reality. This year about 6.6 million tourists arrived in Cambodia. Local tourists, for instance on Saturday and Sunday, travel from place to place […]
A Multi-sectors Economy
Let me be frank with you that the Cambodian economy does not depend on anyone sector that while that particular sector crumbled the whole economy collapsed. We have agriculture, industry and service areas. In agriculture, we do not grow only rice. In industry, we also have many fields that address local demand and export. We also have many business/trade partners. In service sector, we do not only base it on tourism but also banking and finance. The service sector covered over 40% of the Cambodian economy […] I hereby issue some recommendations for provinces bordering with sea as well as relevant institutions to carry out in the forthcoming time:
First, absolutely maintain peace and political stability […] before one can talk about democracy, human rights and development, one must think of peace as a precondition. We do not agree with whoever underestimate value of peace. We came through so much hardships and tragedies and lost lives of so many. We will not tolerate insult on what we are doing to keep peace […] we must ensure a permanent peace on our pitiful land […]
Peace from Physical Threats/Killings and of Mind
I agree that there are combining factors to guarantee peace. There must be development in order to keep peace. Peace without development would not stand. I also accept that a democratic process and human rights respect would contribute to keeping peace and development. We also agree that violation of human rights and disrespect of human dignity would destruct peace. While valuing and keeping peace, we must also value development, democratic process and respect of human rights. They will strengthen peace not only from physical threats and killings but also of mind. We cannot accept political message or action that might lead to destruction of peace. We will take actions by law to prevent such attempts from happening […] I hope that diplomats who have listened to translation always of Hun Sen’s speech reflect on what they have learnt about the past Cambodia […]
Second, to maintain status of the most beautiful beach that we are a member of the most beautiful beach club. It has now become an association. Cambodia has become the Association’s Vice President, will organize a congress in 2022, and host a bicycles beach race in 2020 […] let us make efforts to protect our beach and to stay always in the most beautiful beach club in the world […] we also have to protect our beach from polluted water/wastewater, reclamation and destruction of mangrove forests […]. I have heard about someone – an army officer – filling land into sea. I am requesting Deputy Prime Minister HE Chea Sophara and the Koh Kong provincial authority to look into this matter to find out the truth […]
Third, to build more infrastructures such as roads, rails, drinking water, electricity, hotels, resorts, etc. As we are working on widening the national road 3, traveling from Phnom Penh to Kompot now is not smooth. Once the road is ready, I am sure that more travelers to Preah Sihanouk province and other sea area destinations would travel through Kompot […] about 92% of villages in the country have access to electricity ad we must work harder to deliver access to the remaining 8% […]. That we need to provide people with clean water in not only the city of Kompot but people in the whole province, we are discussing to pipe clean water from Kep where they produced over 20,000 cubic meters per day to Kompot […] last year I came inaugurating the Japanese grant-aid drinking water plant in Kompot. We also have this issue of salinity as water level in the river drops allowing seawater to flow in deeper. We must have a reservoir in precaution […]
Fourth, to get ready to host 2nd congress of Beautiful Beach Club in 2022. Governors of all four provinces along the sea must be prepared to host the 2nd congress of the most beautiful beach club in 2022 in Cambodia […] I hope that we will be doing a great job […] in 2020, we will host the Asia-Europe Meeting followed by the 2021 Great Mekong Sub-region, and in 2022, we also hosted the ASEAN Summit […]
Fifth, as always, I am calling on efforts to keep security and social order, prevent terrorist actions from happening, and obstruct drug use and gangsters that would destabilize tourism […] let me take this opportune moment to address this issue of online gambling. While there were that online thing, some complained about presence of Chinese in Cambodia. Once we closed them out, some are worried about the fact Chinese are leaving. What do they really want? I observed that should the Cambodian economy depend on online gambling, the country would become victim of its national security. Mafia would infiltrate. There would be money-laundering issue. Honest businessman/traders would stay away from Cambodia. We close down online gambling to make sure we keep peace and security and to attract honest investors to do businesses in Cambodia […]
Sixth, to promote cultivation to provide for tourists or to export on spot. I have brought this matter up on numerous occasions. To export on spot for me is not to export produces across the border to this or that country. Cambodian farmers could grow and/or rear animals/fish and sell produces for consumption by tourists. Let us think what the six million tourists eat while they visited Cambodia […] at tourist destinations, make efforts to set up a greenbelt where farmers can grow vegetables and rear birds/animals/fish to sell to hotels, etc. […]. Next year, at the initiation of Senior Minister Cham Prasidh, I will have my first meeting with microfinance, especially small and medium enterprises. Weeks ago, I signed releasing cash of 100 million USD, of which, 50 million USD was for the Rural Development Bank […]
Seventh, to widen and strengthen connectivity of corridor from Kompot to Koh Kong province. We must facilitate connectivity by road and by air from deeper Cambodia to the sea provinces. Once the national road 3 is ready, there will be busy traffics to Kompot and Kep. Once the national road 4 is ready, traffic will flow to the sea and it will serve not only tourism but also growing transportation demands. The national road 48 that links from national road 4 to Koh Kong, will also have a ink to Thmo Da in Pursath, and on to Samlout of Battambang province. We also have a good air connection from Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and international flights to the airport Kong Keng […]
Eighth, to ensure safety for tourists water traveling. We must not underestimate this problem because there have been frequent incident on water travelling tourists in countries in the region […] we are sad that a British teenage tourist drown in Koh Rong […] we must do everything to ensure tourist safety […]./.
