Prime Minister Hun Sen during a university graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh on October 11. SPM
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the government has produced 25 watches as gifts for the top leaders of ASEAN members and partner nations who are set to attend the ASEAN Summit next month in Phnom Penh. Cambodia has also invited top leaders from other countries to attend the summit.
While addressing more than 2,000 students at a university graduation ceremony on October 11, Hun Sen said this year’s Water Festival was called off as the government prepares to host the summit and has to put security measures in place for the world leaders.
“We have produced watches for our most important guests. We have branded the watches as ASEAN, but they are made in Cambodia so that they will know that Khmer can produce watches. I will present them to heads of state and the leaders of important institutions as gifts, and will wear one myself to the summit,” he added.
“Besides ASEAN members, we have invited many partners to engage in a global dialogue. We have invited the directors of the World Bank, the IMF and the ADB, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, the president of the European Council, the president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the president of the World Economic Forum,” he detailed.
He explained that the summit will be accompanied by a number of other events, which the government will be busy hosting. He urged the authorities to ensure the safety of all of the heads of state, heads of Government and leaders of major international institutions who would be in attendance.
He said the government will host the summit at Sokha Hotel and Residence on the Chroy Changvar peninsula in Phnom Penh, noting that he will also reside there during the event.
“Because I would otherwise have to have to cross the city and stop traffic, I have asked my wife to accompany me. It is important that she be there – in case the wives of any of our guests accompany them. I once stayed there for the World Economic Forum,” he explained.
Cambodia has not invited Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of Myanmar’s ruling State Administration Council due to its lack of real progress in implementing the ASEAN five-point consensus and its pursuit of openly provocative policies, including the execution of several pro-democracy activists.
