DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Thailand revives OTOP indigenous goods campaign” plus 8 more

DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Thailand revives OTOP indigenous goods campaign” plus 8 more

Thailand revives OTOP indigenous goods campaign

Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:40 AM PST

BANGKOK, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Thai government is reviving a major promotional campaign for the manufacturing and marketing of indigenous goods, better known as OTOP (One Tambon (county)/One Product), with intent to increase their sales profits and secure export markets worldwide.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who presided over the opening ceremony for an OTOP City 2012 trade fair at Muangthong Thani exhibition center here over the weekend, said the government will see to it that the qualities and values of OTOP items, indigenously manufactured as cottage industry throughout Thailand, will be improved and increased so that they will be exported to the world markets, probably beginning in 2015 -- the year in which the ASEAN bloc will become an ASEAN Economic Community. Among partners of the ASEAN community, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are interested in buying Thai OTOP goods, according to the prime minister.

Marking the 10th anniversary of the OTOP industry, the trade fair, scheduled to run through Dec. 23, is participated by an estimated 3,000 local manufacturers, mostly women villagers as well as provincial and rural community members from all regions of the country.

The government has aimed to encourage local villagers nationwide to produce varied indigenous goods with the use of their own talents and wisdom while the authorities tended to provide financial and technical support.

The Department of Community Development, which is primarily in charge of promoting and funding OTOP industry nationwide, will be a leading force behind the efforts to develop the qualities and values of OTOP items so that they will be ranked as five-star products which will be terminally qualified for export, according to the prime minister.

Thailand's cottage industry churns out a wide range of hand- made products such as handicraft items, furniture items, clothes, paintings, kitchen utensils, dolls, fresh and dried fruits, preservable foods, pickled vegetables and spices and souvenirs made from recycled metal scraps and wood.

"The OTOP industry involves some 30,000 indigenous manufacturers nationwide and we believe many more will follow from now. The OTOP industry has made an estimated 70 billion baht (2.3 billion U.S. dollars) in sales profits annually and that sum will probably go up to 100 billion baht (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) by 2015," said the prime minister.

Yingluck remarked that the government would not only push for the export of OTOP items but also expand their domestic markets to all regions in the country. In particular, leading department stores in the capital and the provinces will be recommended to put them on sale, she said.

Thailand's OTOP industry was initiated in 2001 by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, brother of the lady prime minister, alongside SME (small- and medium-sized enterprise) development projects, which were implemented by government agencies in all provinces throughout the country.

However, until recently, it had been largely left unattended by the authorities following the fall of Thaksin in the 2006 coup.

Cambodian PM to visit India for ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:50 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a high delegation to attend the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-India dialogue partnership and the 10th anniversary of ASEAN- India Summit level partnership to be held on Dec. 20-21 in New Delhi, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

The participation is made at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the press release said, adding that senior officials accompanying the premier to India will include Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh, Vice-President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia Sun Chanthol and other members of the government.

The theme of the summit is'ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and Shared Prosperity'. At the end of the summit, the heads of states and governments of ASEAN and India will adopt a Vision Statement to chart the future direction of ASEAN-India relations.

Hun Sen will deliver a short keynote address to close the ASEAN- India Car Rally. He will hold a bilateral talk with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) group Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia is the rotating ASEAN chair in 2012.

Japanese auto supplier launches auto parts plant in Cambodia

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 10:44 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Tokyo-based auto supplier, the Yazaki Corporation, on Monday inaugurated an automotive electronic parts plant in Southwestern Cambodia and the products will be supplied to auto plants around the globe.

The 24 million U.S. dollar factory is situated at the Koh Kong Special Economic Zone in Koh Kong province, some 271 kilometers Southwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, Yasuhiko Yazaki, chairman of Yazaki Corporation, said at the inauguration ceremony, adding that the plant employs about 600 workers.

Speaking at the event, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said besides bringing high technology to Cambodia, the plant will contribute to developing the country's economy.

"The investment reflects Japanese investors' trust in Cambodia's political stability, good security, and good business environment," he said.

Cambodia has seen a remarkable increase in investments from Japan in the last couple of years. Last Monday, AEON Mall, a Japan 's single-largest shopping mall developer, broke ground for the construction of a four-storey shopping mall in Phnom Penh, announcing that the mall will cost up to 205 million U.S. dollars.

Cambodian defense officials leave for Thailand to talk on disputed border area

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:43 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A group of Cambodian defense officials and legal experts left here on Monday for Bangkok in order to attend the third meeting of Cambodia-Thailand Joint Working Group (JWG) from Dec. 17-19.

The delegation was led by Gen. Neang Phat, secretary of state of Cambodia's defense ministry. The forthcoming meeting will be chaired by Neang Phat and Gen. Worapong Sanganetra, chief of joint staff of the Royal Thai Army.

Speaking to reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport before his departure, Neang Phat said the upcoming meeting will focus on the next step of troop redeployment from the Provisional Demilitarized Zone (PDZ) surrounding Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple.

In the meeting, he said, Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) and Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) will discuss measures and planning for a joint mine clearance in the PDZ ahead of the next step of troop withdrawal and observer redeployment.

"We believe that the forthcoming meeting will come to fruition because in previous meetings, both sides expressed high commitment to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) in withdrawing troops from the PDZ," he said. "We wish to see Cambodia-Thailand border as the border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development."

Cambodia and Thailand withdrew military personnel from the PDZ in the first phase on July 18.

The first-phase-troop redeployment was made after a bilateral meeting between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Siem Reap province on July 13.

The two neighbors have had sporadic border conflict over territorial dispute near Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, but Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers of scrub next to the temple.

Fierce clashes between the two sides' troops had happened in February and April 2011 during Thailand's Democrat Party rule.

The ICJ ordered on July 18, 2011 that Cambodia and Thailand must immediately withdraw their military personnel from the PDZ of 17.3 square kilometers and refrain from any armed activity directed at that zone.

Also, it ordered both parties to allow ASEAN observers ( Indonesians) to access to the zone to monitor ceasefire.

Yearender: China, U.S. move beyond distractions toward fostering new inter-power relations

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:41 PM PST

BEIJING/WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- In 2001, when the United States started its war on terror while China focused on economic growth, few would have predicted that Washington and Beijing, now the world's two largest economies, will raise the prospect of building a new type of inter-power relationship 11 years later.

Historically, the rise of a new power has often led to conflict with established ones, as reflected in a grim account of world wars.

But China-U.S. relations could set a new precedent. While enduring frictions and tests in 2012 as usual, the two countries, with their economies increasingly intertwined, now realize they have too much to lose in a zero-sum game, and much more to gain to ditch the stereotyped pattern of power clashes.

OLD QUESTION, NEW ANSWER

During his U.S. visit in February, Xi Jinping, newly-elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, then in the capacity of Chinese vice president, pushed forward the idea of building a new type of inter-power relationship between the two countries based on win-win cooperation, mutual trust and favorable interaction.

After the trip, the concept was reaffirmed in the fourth China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Beijing in May, during which Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the two heavyweights to break from traditional belief and seek new ways to develop relations between major countries.

The U.S. side responded positively to the proposal.

"Together we are trying to do something unprecedented to write a new answer to an age-old question of what happens when the established power and the rising power meet," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Since then the intention to pursue a new type of inter-power relationship grew more evidently, as seen in a slew of high-level contacts, including the third meeting of China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, a summit between Hu and U.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 summit in Mexico, and most recently, the talks between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Obama last month on the sidelines of the 7th East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

"It (building a new type of major power relations) is a newly proposed vision, which requires a lot of research," said Tao Wenzhao, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' American Research Institute, told Xinhua in an interview.

"The continuing narrowing of power gap (between the two countries) may leave the two countries being pitted against each other, but raising the idea of building cooperative China-U.S. relations at this moment will help prevent the growing competition from hurting the bilateral ties," he said.

MIX OF RIVALRY, PARTNERSHIP

Indeed, the narrowing power gap has led to a complex mix of partnership and rivalry in the bilateral relationship. It also added concerns among Washington policymakers over the decline of U.S. global status.

With such worries, this year the Obama administration took a spate of measures to bolster the U.S. presence and influence in the Asia-Pacific region, meddled in maritime disputes between China and its neighbors, and moved to block some Chinese products and investments from entering the U.S. market, Chinese analysts said.

Commenting on Washington's plan to deploy 60 percent of its warships to the Asia-Pacific by 2020, Tao said "America does have an intention to counterbalance China's growing influence in the Asia-Pacific as it shifts its strategic center of gravity eastward."

"The United States wants to convince China's neighbors that Asia-Pacific needs Washington's presence and protection in order to 'unite' them to strike a 'strategic rebalance' against China in the region," security expert Wang Yusheng recently wrote in an article about the U.S. meddling in China's maritime disputes.

Moreover, the U.S. election-year politics has also added to the complexity of the bilateral ties. To sway votes in battleground states, Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney played hardball tactics against China, pinning some of the blame on Beijing for domestic economic woes.

Fortunately, for all the hawkish campaign talks, the U.S. policymakers are aware that putting such tough rhetoric into action is not a realistic option. The China-bashing has abated after the election in November.

On the economic front, businessmen have brushed the political wariness and trade disputes to build a web of ties in trade. Bilateral trade is forecasted to increase 9.1 percent in the first nine months of this year.

"Trade collision (between the two countries) in itself is not a big deal. For China and the United States, such frictions are relative small given that their bilateral trade nears 500 billion U.S. dollars," Tao said.

Direct investments by Chinese companies in the United States are likely to reach a new high of 6.5 billion dollars this year, according to Rhodium Group, which tracks Chinese investment.

Senior Chinese and U.S. officials have also frequently exchanged visits to avoid any escalation of conflicts.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie travelled to Washington in May, the first in nine years, to improve communication between the two militaries.

The two sides also found converging interests and vowed to enhance cooperation and coordination in a number of international issues such as climate change, global financial stability, nuclear nonproliferation and free trade, among others.

CONTINUITY EXPECTED

As both countries underwent leadership change this year, the world is closely watching what is next for the China-U.S. relationship, arguably the most important of its kind in the world.

Analysts in Washington and Beijing are generally upbeat about the prospects of the relations, as they see no substantial changes in both countries' foreign policies under the new leadership.

Jeffrey Bader, an expert of the Brookings Institution and a former national security official, said the U.S.-China relations are in pretty good shape right now, and the U.S. foreign policies and strategies toward China will not change significantly under Obama's second term.

The key issue will be how to react properly to China's continued rise and its increasingly important role in global society, he added.

The analysts also believe that with broad international visions (Xi's 1985 visit to Iowa and Vice Premier Li Keqiang's English fluency) and the knowledge to cope with global challenges, the new Chinese leadership is ready to foster a more cooperative China-U.S. relationship.

Bonnie Glaser, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Xinhua that Xi's U.S. visit was "extremely important," as it "began the process of laying some groundwork for the (bilateral) relationship."

Jonathan Pollack, acting director of the John Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, said Xi's visit was both important and successful as it helped build a personal relationship between Xi and Obama.

"There are going to be challenges to a relationship this big and this complex. So, if you can create something of a bond or a relationship between top-level officials, it is for the better," Pollack told Xinhua.

Tao agreed, and noted that "both Obama and Xi have voiced their determination to push for reforms and move forward. I think this bodes well for the China-U.S. relations."

Peering through historical lens, the pursuit of building a new type of China-U.S. relationship assumes great significance not only for the two countries, but for the world at large.

Just as Henry Kissinger, a famous U.S. diplomat and old "China hand" put it, "China and the United States will not necessarily transcend the ordinary operation of great-power rivalry. But they owe it to themselves, and the world, to make an effort to do so."

Cambodia holds forum to promote business, investment opportunities

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:41 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia held a business and investment forum on Sunday in order to inform investors about the country's potential sectors and investment-related rules and regulations.

The forum was attended by about 150 local and foreign business representatives. It was held annually in conjunction with the 7th Cambodia Import-Export Promotion Exhibition, which kicked off on Saturday at the Diamond Island Exhibition Center.

Addressing the event, Mao Thora, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said the forum was very important for participants to seek business and investment opportunities in the country.

"All investors, before their decision to invest in a country, will consider three major factors -- political stability, macroeconomic stability, and protective and incentive investment law," he said, "Cambodia meets these requirements."

He added that the government has been strongly encouraging investment activities in agriculture and agro-industry, transport and telecommunication infrastructure, energy and electricity, labor intensive industries and export-oriented processing and manufacturing, tourism-related industries, human resources development, processing industry, oil and gas and mining.

At the forum, there were also a number of presentations by Cambodian officials about the business and investment climate in the country.

Suon Sophal, deputy director of the public relation and investment promotion department at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), said at the event that the country treats all investors equally and all investors are protected by the investment law.

According to Suon Sophal, most foreign investors in Cambodia are from China, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, China's Taiwan, China's Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Japan.

According to the CDC's figures, the country attracted a total investment of 845 million U.S. dollars in the first seven months of this year. Those investments were made in the fields of fertilizer manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, rice milling, tapioca powder processing, garment factories, hotel and resort development, and information technology.

On the trade side, the country's total import and export volume was 12.31 billion U.S. dollars in the first eleven months of this year, up 17.5 percent from 10.47 billion U.S. dollars at the same period last year, according to a report of the Commerce Ministry.

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

Cambodia officially announces rice exporters federation

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:41 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Federation of Cambodian Rice Exporters (FCRE) was officially launched on Saturday in a bid to promote and maintain a strong presence of the country's rice in the international marketplace, officials said.

"The federation's ambition is to expand Cambodian rice exports and to work relentlessly on continuous improvement of Cambodian rice sector," Kim Savuth, FCRE's president, said at the launching ceremony.

He said the federation's members consist of rice exporters, banks, logistic companies and other allied businesses.

"We are together in order to create a dynamic force to boost rice exports," said Savuth, who is also president of Khmer Food Co. Ltd.

Seun Sotha, director of the Commerce Ministry's trade promotion department, said the FCRE is the only one organization that is authorized to discuss and negotiate with the government in all issues relevant to rice exports.

Addressing the event, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said the federation will contribute to assisting the country to achieve the export target of one million tons of milled rice by 2015.

Cambodia is an agrarian country. More than 80 percent of the population is farmers. In August, 2010, the government has launched the rice export promotion strategy, aiming at exporting one million tons of milled rice by 2015.

However, the country could export only the small amount of its milled rice due to the shortages of sophisticated post-harvest technology and capital.

According to the figures of the Commerce Ministry, the country exported 141,470 tons of milled rice in the first ten months of this year, an increase of 4 percent from 136,000 tons at the same period last year.

With the exported volume, it earned revenues of 97.6 million U. S. dollars, up 25 percent from 78.2 million U.S. dollars.

Cambodia organizes large-scale trade fair to boost import-export activities

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:40 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Cambodia Import-Export Promotion Exhibition kicked off here on Saturday, aiming at promoting local trade and trade between the country and its foreign trading partners.

The four-day event, held at the capital's Diamond Island Exhibition Center, brought together products from 21 countries around the world, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said at the opening ceremony.

Some 276 companies with 407 booths have displayed their products ranging from agricultural products, daily consuming items, jewelry, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products to electronic and IT products as well as tourism and banking services.

"The exhibition is created to stimulate import-export business activities, while providing both consumers and traders the acknowledgment and support for the use of local quality commodities, goods and services," he said. "It is also an opportunity to promote trade and attract traders both at home and abroad for their products."

Besides the exhibition, there will be sub-events such as business forum, trade promotion activities, and trade matching activities.

"We trust that such events will form the significant parts of Cambodian Government's aims to extend Cambodian markets for local products, and to facilitate trader-partnerships between local and overseas," the minister said.

The country's total import and export volume had jumped to 12. 31 billion U.S. dollars in the first eleven months of this year, up 17.5 percent from 10.47 billion U.S. dollars at the same period last year, he said.

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

One of the vendors at the exhibition said that the event was a good opportunity for her to display products at her shop to local and foreign customers.

"At our shop, we sell precious stones, from the country's Rattanakiri province, Takeo province and Kampong Thom province, and silver-made products," You Sithon, owner of Sok Nay Jewelry Shop, said.

She said that she has joined such exhibition since it was held for the first time in 2006.

"Besides, we always attend exhibitions in China or Thailand in order to promote our products to foreign buyers," she said.

Cambodia passes fire prevention draft law

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 07:39 PM PST

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Government of Cambodia on Friday passed a draft law on fire prevention in order to contribute to maintaining security, social safety, public order, and life and property protection, according to a media statement released after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

The draft law, compiled by the Ministry of Interior, was approved during the weekly Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"It aims at enhancing fire prevention in order to protect life, property, environment, security, public order and social safety," the statement said. "It will increase confidence among investors and tourists."

In the meeting, Hun Sen appealed to private business establishments, especially factories and large-scale hotels, to cooperate with local officials and firefighters in order to prevent fire disaster.

He also urged those owners to properly equip their enterprises with fire preventive system and fire extinguishers. If possible, he said, they should have fire trucks for their personal use.

Ouk Kimlek, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, said that the draft law on fire prevention would allow courts to sentence officials who demand bribes before extinguishing fires and introduce jail term punishment for arson.

"Firefighters who demand money for their work before extinguishing fires will be jailed up to 5 years if found guilty," he told Xinhua over telephone on Friday. "For arsonists, the maximum sentence will be up to 15 years in jail."

According to Kimlek, hundreds of houses and market stalls have been destroyed by fires this year and over a dozen of people were killed in the fires.

The latest blaze happened at a night market in the tourism city of Siem Reap province last Saturday, claiming 8 lives and destroying over a hundred of souvenir shops.

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