Day: April 27, 2023

MS Westerdam Monument will be built at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) to remind of the docking of the cruise ship at the Cambodian seaport, after spending almost two weeks of limbo due to COVID-19 fears.

H.E. Lou Kimchun, Director General of PAS, told reporters during a media trip led by Mr. Puy Kea, President of the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ), that the monument is to mark “A Small Country with a Big Heart”.

H.E. Lou Kimchun underlined that the Westerdam cruise ship is scheduled to revisit Cambodia in December this year.

Being declined by ports in many country, Westerdam cruise ship carrying more than 2,200 multinational passengers and crewmembers finally docked at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on Feb. 13, 2020 with the authorisation from the Royal Government of Cambodia. The decision placed the international spotlight squarely on how Cambodia would respond to this challenging situation.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Prak Sokhonn has spoken highly of food diplomacy, stressing that it is a ‘soft power’ that Cambodia could utilise to promote commerce, culture, tourism, exports and bolster culinary proficiency.

The DPM made the remarks while presiding over the “Progress Meeting of Economic Diplomacy Working Group for the First Quarter of 2023 and Consultative Meeting for the Selection of Khmer Food to Welcome Foreign Guests”, organised here on April 25 in a hybrid format by the Economic Diplomacy Coordinating Group (EDCG), according to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) AKP received this afternoon.

The Cambodian top diplomate highly commended the cooperation and support from relevant ministries and the private sector in the implementation of the Economic Diplomacy Strategy 2021-2023, and expressed his support for the initiative of selecting Khmer dishes to welcome foreign guests, which required inputs from relevant stakeholders in both public and private sectors to preserve national identity and to guarantee a high standard of tastes and ingredients in Khmer food in the hope to promote Khmer cuisine and to further raise national prestige on the international stage.

Approximately 200 participants were present at the meeting, including senior officials, heads of Cambodian Missions abroad, and diplomatic officials of the MFAIC, as well as representatives from Cambodian Hotel Association, Cambodian Restaurant Association, among others.

The core objective of this meeting was to review the achievements of the Economic Diplomacy working group in the first quarter of 2023 and to provide a platform for relevant ministries and the private sector to discuss and provide inputs on the selection and standardisation of Khmer cuisines in respect of menus, ingredients, tastes, presentation, and quality at hotels and restaurants.

Following this meeting, H.E. Dr. Nhim Khemara, Secretary of State and Head of the Economic Diplomacy Coordinating Group, hosted a dinner event for all participants to experience the flavours and to appreciatively comprehend the ingredients and culinary techniques of Khmer cuisine.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

The El Niño oceanographic phenomenon is forecast to return in June, resulting in dry weather across Southeast Asia, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) says.

In a statement released in Rome Wednesday, the UN agency’s Global Information and Early-Warning System noted that El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) originating in South America was a “key driver of extreme weather events that pose high risks to global food security.”

El Niño is often linked to warmer sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific while La Niña events tend to be associated with colder temperatures.

“The world experienced a third consecutive La Niña event in 2022 and early 2023, a rare occurrence that has happened only twice since 1950,” the early-warning system said.

With the three-year La Niña dissipating in March, “forecasts point to a transition to an El Niño state in the second half of 2023,” it said.

“Countries where the entire crop cycle affected by drier-than-average weather conditions are of particular concern, as water deficits could curtail both plantings and yields with compounding negative impacts on final production.”

The early-warning system said countries “at risk of dry conditions” included Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Recommended actions to be followed in most countries at risk of being affected by dry weather in the 2023-24 season include timely distribution of farming tools, seeds of drought-tolerant crop varieties and feed.

The FAO also recommends provision of animal health support, rehabilitation of water bodies, and support to farmers on water-harvesting techniques and post-harvest management and processing.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse