DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN+3 senior officials prepare documents for Nov. summit” plus 3 more

DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN+3 senior officials prepare documents for Nov. summit” plus 3 more

ASEAN+3 senior officials prepare documents for Nov. summit

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 11:32 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) senior officials gathered here Friday to discuss and prepare documents for their leaders in the ASEAN-China Summit in November.

The meeting was co-chaired by Soeung Rathchavy, secretary of state of Cambodia's Foreign Ministry, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki and South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-Hyun.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rathchavy said the meeting focused on the preparations for the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN+3 cooperation in November.

"The cooperation between ASEAN and Plus Three Countries is very good and it is very crucial to continue to sustain the momentum and further strengthen the cooperation through the existing mechanisms and all initiatives," she said.

She added to honor the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN+3 Cooperation, Cambodia will organize the ASEAN+3 Youth Leaders Symposium in Phnom Penh on Sept. 27-28, and the ASEAN+3 Cultural Performance in Siem Reap, the cultural city of East Asia on Nov. 2- 3.

According to the official schedule, during the Nov. summit, the ASEAN+3 leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN+3 Leaders'Joint Statement on the Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN+3 Cooperation and the Leaders' Statement on ASEAN+3 Partnership on Connectivity.

Later in the day, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai also attended the East Asia Summit (EAS)'s senior officials meeting.

The meeting was held between senior officials of ASEAN and EAS countries namely, ASEAN member states, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

The official schedule shows that during the East Asia Summit in November, the leaders will adopt the Declaration of the 7th East Asia Summit on Resistance to Anti-malarial Medicines and the Declaration on the Launching of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Negotiation.

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Under-5 mortality rate in Cambodia declines sharply

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:02 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The mortality rate among under five-year-old children in Cambodia has declined to 43 deaths out of 1,000 live births in 2011, a 63 percent drop from 117 deaths in 1990, according to a report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday.

The 2012 progress report entitled "Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed" examines trends in child mortality estimates since 1990, and shows that major reductions have been made in under-five mortality rates in all regions and diverse countries.

It said that countries across the world are making rapid progress in reducing child deaths, demonstrating that it is possible to radically reduce child mortality over the span of two decades.

The report showed that the number of children under the age of five dying globally fell from nearly 12 million in 1990 to an estimated 6.9 million in 2011.

Between 1990 and 2011, nine low-income countries -- Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda -- cut their under-five mortality rate by 60 percent or more, it said.

Cambodia records 1.51 bln trade deficit in 7 months

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:01 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia reported a trade deficit of 34 percent in equivalent to 1.51 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven of this year, the report of the Commerce Ministry showed on Thursday.

During January-July period this year, the country's total import and export value was 7.45 billion U.S. dollars, up 15 percent from 6.47 billion U.S. dollars at the same period last year, the report said.

The imports increased by 18 percent to 4.48 billion U.S. dollars, whilst the exports rose by 11 percent to 2.97 billion U.S. dollars, leading the trade deficit of 1.51 billion U.S. dollars, it said.

Cambodia is heavily reliant on international trade, and the economy is supported by garment industry, tourism, agriculture and construction.

Key products Cambodia exported include garments and footwear, rubber latex, milled rice and cassava. In return, the country shipped in products including garment and textile raw materials, petroleum, construction materials, automobiles and motorcycles, consuming items, food and soft drinks, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics.

The country's main foreign trading partners are the United States, European countries, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Canada.

Last year, the country saw a trade deficit of only 26 percent or 1.73 billion U.S. dollars.

Bangladesh's under-five mortality rate slashed to 46: UNICEF report

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:01 PM PDT

DHAKA, Sept. (Xinhua) -- The rate of young Bangladesh children dying before they reach their fifth birthday has been slashed to 46 in 2011 from 139 about two decades ago, a United Nations Children's Fund or UNICEF report says.

According to the report received here on Thursday, countries across the world are also making rapid progress in reducing child deaths, demonstrating that it is possible to radically reduce child mortality over the span of two decades.

The report, titled 2012 Progress Report on Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, examines trends in child mortality since 1990, and shows that major reductions have been made in under-five mortality rates in all regions and diverse countries, said the UNICEF in a statement.

Data released by UNICEF and the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation show that the number of children under the age of five dying globally fell from nearly 12 million in 1990 to an estimated 6.9 million in 2011.

For instance, it said the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) for Bangladesh in 1990 was 139, while in 2011 it decreased to 46 only.

Low-income countries such as Bangladesh, Liberia and Rwanda, middle-income countries such as Brazil, Mongolia and Turkey, and high-income countries such as Oman and Portugal, have all made dramatic gains, lowering their under-five mortality rates by more than two-thirds between 1990 and 2011, the report said.

Between 1990 and 2011, it said nine low-income countries -- Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda -- reduced their under-five mortality rate by 60 percent or more.

Under-five deaths are increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which together accounted for more than 80 percent of all under-five deaths in 2011, it added.

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