AKP Phnom Penh, December 06, 2018 -The conservation and development of heritage are endless work and need contribution from national and international milieus, especially the youths.
His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, made the remarks while presiding over the closing ceremony of the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) held at the Terrace of the Elephants in Siem Reap province yesterday evening.
On the occasion, the monarch recalled the listing of Angkor as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site on Dec. 14, 1992 at the appeal of His Majesty the late King-Father Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk. Moreover, he congratulated the ICC-Angkor on its achievements in the safeguarding and development of the historical and cultural site of Angkor and spoke highly of the efforts and sacrifice of all stakeholders.
This celebration also reminded all of us of a duty that has bound us since September 1991, a historical time of the beginning of negotiations for peace of Cambodia, he added.
His Majesty the King lauded the right policy on national culture set forth by the Royal Government of Cambodia under the wise leadership of Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen to protect, conserve and develop national heritage.
H.E. Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, highly valued the achievements of the ICC-Angkor in the past 25 years and regarded the ICC-Angkor as a model mechanism for the world in terms of international cooperation for cultural heritage preservation.
In his opening speech, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen called on all friendly nations and development partners to continue their support as well as inter-ministerial officials to continue their collaboration for the successful protection and conservation of this heritage of humanity.
As part of the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of ICC-Angkor in Siem Reap province on Dec. 4-5, 2018, there was the signing of cooperation agreement between UNESCO and International Conference of Asian Political Parties/Asian Cultural Council (ICAPP/ACC), and a memorandum of understanding between APSARA National Authority and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to continue the renovation of Preah Pithou group of ruined temples and the Terrace of the Elephants.
ICC-Angkor is co-chaired by France and Japan, while UNESCO ensures the Standing Secretariat. ICC-Angkor was created after Angkor was inscribed on the World Heritage List on Dec. 14, 1992. It was one of the conditions given by the World Heritage Committee to accept the Angkor Site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since that time, the ICC-Angkor has convened regularly twice a year, thus consistently following up on all operations being carried out on the site. It is the international mechanism for coordination of assistance to be extended by different countries and organisations, and ensures the consistency of the different projects, defines, when necessary, conservation standards and calls the attention of the concerned parties when required.
By Khan Sophirom
