Thank Cambodians Overseas for Coming and Waiting
I am so happy to be able to see you compatriots living, working, and studying abroad. I learnt that some of you are from Belgium, and many come from France, Holland, England, and Canada, etc. I have an obligation to address you because of two great things you have done. Firstly, you have traveled far and wide to see me […], and secondly, you had to wait for a long time for me to finish other businesses before I can come see you. Meeting you is a special moment that I would never leave out. We share same blood and you have come from far and different places to meet the country’s leader […] on this occasion, I thank you so much for coming and waiting and I also learnt that some of you will also be going to another gathering in Switzerland. I will leave Belgium tomorrow for an official visit to Turkey, and on 22 October 2018, I will return to Switzerland for a trade conference. I will surely have another meeting with our compatriots in Switzerland, for which many Cambodians from France and elsewhere would be coming to.
Cambodia to Host ASEM in 2020 and More
I wish to share with all of you a pride for our nation that in 2020, Cambodia will host the ASEM Summit in Phnom Penh. It is a pride for all of Cambodians. I do not expect those in the opposition to welcome this news because they did not even congratulate our sportsmen/women who won for our nation medals. I would not want Cambodians to be divided. If we continue to be divided, when will Cambodia be a unified nation? I would not want us to paint color on one another. However, I am sure that the Cambodian majority welcome this pleasant news […] ASEM will comprise of more than 50 countries and it has come now to Cambodia’s turn to host the meeting. No one country objects to Cambodia’s hosting of the meeting – from senior officials through to Ministerial, and head of state/government levels.
This can be a message to those who have spoken about unlawful elections and unrecognition of the Royal Government of Cambodia. I wish to affirm all of you that there will be more than 50 countries to gather in Phnom Penh at the invitation of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Who would that be? A guerrilla? It is no one else but the Royal Government of Cambodia led by Prime Minister Hun Sen. I do not like to see Cambodians being fooled by some about international relations. What would a recognition and unrecognition mean? If foreign countries withdraw their embassies and cut off relations after we established the Royal Government, that would mean they do not recognize us. However, if the diplomatic relations continue, it means they will work with us […] I brought this matter up for the sake of clarification to some who would be subject to such distraction […] Cambodia would host ASEM in this term. In the next term, as I said I would seek to be elected as Prime Minister for ten more years, I am planning to host the non-aligned movement meeting. In 2022, Cambodia will host the ASEAN Summit and related summits for the third time. In 2023, there will be a general elections and I hope to win again. I will seek to chair the non-aligned movement […]
Sam Rainsy’s Lies on Hun Sen’s Government
I am present now in Europe. What would be the so-called “unrecognition of the Royal Government”? When I go to the United Nations, they fooled people that (the United States of) America would not let Hun Sen set his foot on their land. Finally, the US police were there to give me protection. They have to take responsibility to provide protection of leaders in the world who flock to the UN General Assembly […] secondly, when I set foot in the US, they said the UN would suspend the Cambodian UN Seat. I heard that and I said out loud who had his “big liver” to suspend the Cambodian seat? They heard my reaction and they said the UN would not suspend the seat but would not let Hun Sen sit on it. I did sit in it. They continued to fool people that in the UNGA, Hun Sen was rebuked. I then tell them to check in every single speech of the nearly 200 countries. Even for this ASEM meeting, the only word about Cambodia appears only about hosting the ASEM summit in 2020 […] failing to convince the public, they then talked about running a mass demonstration […]
No Talk with Hun Sen – You Got It
They now said that they no longer talk to Hun Sen. I am asking people to record this and he should also note it. I wish the press to also keep this. He said that he will not talk or negotiate with the Royal Government of Hun Sen. He just wrote in his WhatsApp account to ask Japan to intervene for a negotiation with Hun Sen. Why did he forget? You should not ask me for talk or negotiation. If you do, swear it you will be struck by lightning. What is fearsome to anyone is when someone (in opposition) asks for a negotiation. If the other party denies, they would be seen as lacking of will […] you got it now. You close the door on yourself. I have said it already that should I pardon you for the third time, I would not hold my hand to my body.
Sometimes I had to question where would the virtue of a leader be? Let me address him by name. I always give my appreciation to Sam Rainsy’s children. I never had a slight thought that he would open attack on my children. I met all but one daughter of Sam Rainsy who could not take on a flight for her pregnancy. I gave them my praise. Sam Rainsy attacked my children on his Facebook page. If we fathers could not adjust to one another, why can we not let our children to have better regard of each other? […] I do not wish Cambodians to keep sin and continue divisiveness through dynasty or generation. We have the will but we cannot do it alone […]
Economy to Reach 7.2% Growth
The most important job of the new Royal Government is to keep political and macroeconomic stability. They are the most critical issues of every country. We are to realize political and economic stability. This year, the Cambodian economy is poised to reach 7.2% growth, a rate that major financial institutions considered number one in the Asia Pacific region. Vietnam came second at a growth rate of 6.8% […] we will try to keep inflation rate at 2.8% and the Cabinet will study and approve the budget law. I will leave Geneva on 24 October and will reach Phnom Penh on 25 October. We will have the budget meeting on 26 October […] should we realize the growth at 7.2%, the macroeconomic framework, we would continue to place our goal of reaching a growth of 7%, with inflation rate below 5%, and an exchange rate at 4050 Riel to 1 USD. We must make efforts. Our workers who in 2017 earned minimum salary at 153 USD/month have in 2018 earned 170 USD, and in 2019, will earn 182 USD. The salary of the civil servants and the armed forces will also go up […]
Disequilibrium – Then and Now
I have said it somewhere about disequilibrium. In the past ten or twenty years, we used to draw some disequilibrium between demand and supply. We had this issue of population growth and lack of food issue. Now, the disequilibrium is reversing. Our population has grown to about 16 million, and we have left a surplus of nearly 6 million ton of rice. We are looking for market to export our rice to. We also had disequilibrium between transportation means and people’s need for traveling. Now, the disequilibrium is between too many transport means and lack of roads […]
EBA – We Will Lose It Sooner or Later
Let us figure out about “Everything but Arms – EBA,” where is the problem now? I just wish for you to see if anyone has lost their jobs or incomes yet? No one has suffered it. Everything is still intact. However, it has become an issue that some have used it as tool for psychological war. In ASEAN, let me tell you, only three countries have access to EBA – Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam – not all ten countries. Myanmar also has problem but it is still exporting. As for Laos, a one-party country, also continues to export to Europe, only in small quantity. Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, etc. do not enjoy EBA because their growing economies. In this instance, let me ascertain to you that sooner or later, Cambodia will also lose this accession.
Concessional Interest Loans; Keep Ceiling Low
Take for instance, interest rate, when our economy is growing to a certified level, we would not be able to ask for loan at concessional but commercial interest rate […] based on our economic growth, some opinionated that we should not be afraid of going for loans at commercial rate. I disagree. Cambodia has not had this ability to borrow commercial loan yet. Some has also suggested that we may up our loan ceiling to 40% of GDP. So far our loan ceiling is somewhere at 23%, including the debts from previous times to the US and former Soviet Union. We must always focus on how capable are we to pay those loans. It is in this notion that I have asked people to save up and generated hundreds of millions of USD in surplus for investments. We cannot ask for loans to fix roads or to relieve some natural disasters. We are working to streamline incoming and outspending on our budget, after which we are able to increase salary for civil servants and armed forces, and to invest on infrastructures […]
National Income Structure Transformed
As far as national income is concerned, we have achieved tremendous transformation. Previously, income from custom stood at 80%, while income from domestic sources contributed the rest 20%. As for now, such structure has changed. Income from customs has come down and stayed at roughly 40%, while income from domestic sources has gone up to 60% […] in the past, when custom shared about 80% of national incomes, that was about 20 to 30 million USD each month. Now that it has come down to 40% of national income, each month it has brought in over 200 million USD. That was because sizes of export and import were bigger […]
Your Cares and Affections – Encouraging More Efforts
I understand that you are tired from travelling and waiting. However, I may be the one who is the most exhausted after all. I have not had anything in my stomach yet. I am so moved to and appreciating your affection reserved for me. It is a great source of encouragement for me to make further efforts back in the country […] some of you traveled to Cambodia to vote and some sent messages to relatives telling them to go to vote. You have fulfilled obligation as people who love democracy and exercised it through your voting rights. The ones who voted are the ones that support democracy. That you say or do otherwise, you are against democracy. Over 83% of registered voters exercised their rights was not a joke. Firstly, I thank you all for your share to keep democracy going in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Secondly, you have made correct decision to vote for peace and development. That you chose the Cambodian People’s Party, you have voted for yourselves. More so, you have been paying back your respects to sacrifices made by your grandparents, parents, etc. […]
Always Comparing Himself to Someone
There is one other thing that I should be sharing. I do not see him talking about making Aung San Suu Kyi his partner anymore. The other day he wrote Hun Sen was shocked to see that three Presidents of South Korea were jailed […] he then compared (me) to Najib (Razak) in Malaysia. Previously, when Aung San Suu Kyi made a political headway, he quickly likened himself to her. Now that there is this problem of genocide (concerning the Rohingya) he dare not make her his model […] this man should feel ashamed of his words and actions. Once again, I give you – our compatriots and Buddhist monks, my great thanks for coming and listening to my updates of political and economic developments of Cambodia […] I wish you all the five Buddhist blessings./.
