SM Goh calls on Cambodian PM Hun Sen, reaffirming strong ties

23 November 2009
By Satish Cheney
Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is now in Cambodia for a two-day official visit, called on Prime Minister Hun Sen at the National Assembly on Monday afternoon.

During the hour-long meeting, they reaffirmed strong bilateral ties.

Mr Goh also congratulated Mr Hun Sen for the significant economic progress Cambodia has achieved since his last visit in 2002.

He was also briefed on Cambodia's recent economic developments.

Both leaders exchanged views on Cambodia's tourism sector as well as how to attract more foreign investments.

They also agreed that investment in human resource was essential to ensure Cambodia's long-term economic development.

Mr Goh said Singapore would be pleased to continue contributing to Cambodia's development through the Singapore Cooperation Programme and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.

In the evening, Mr Hun Sen hosted Mr Goh to dinner at his residence.

Mr Goh is expected to call on King Norodom Sihamoni on Tuesday.

After Cambodia, Mr Goh will proceed to Laos.

Cambodian PM meets with former Singaporean PM on global financial crisis

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday met with visiting Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and discussed the updated situation of the country and measures of dealing the global financial crisis, an official to Cambodian Prime Minister said.

During the meeting, Hun Sen told Goh that the Cambodian government made the policies to keep the macro-economy stable, and the National Bank of Cambodia, together with other banks, also took some measures for the financial system, Eang Sophallet, an assistant to Hun Sen told reporters after about one-hour talking between the two leaders.

Eang said that the global financial crisis has affected the world and Senior Minister Goh wanted to know the measures and challenges Cambodia has taken to deal with the economic crisis, as well as the policy strategy to follow in the future.

Hun Sen also said that Cambodian government has been boosting construction of infrastructure and strengthening agricultural sector for economic growth.

Meanwhile, Goh told Hun Sen that Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is inviting him to visit Singapore. Hun Sen accepted the invitation and agreed to pay an official visit with appropriate time in the future, Eang added.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visits Cambodia from Nov. 23-24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Hun Sen. In Cambodia, Goh will also be received in Royal audience by King Norodom Sihamoni, and meet with Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin.

More women in Cambodia turning to sex trade amid financial crisis – UN report

Source: UN News Centre

21 July 2009 – The global financial crisis has led to signs of an increase in Cambodian women entering the sex trade, says a new United Nations report, which recommends strengthening social safety nets and improving job training and placement to help women avoid such dangerous and exploitative work.

The report, prepared by the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), is based on research conducted in April and May involving 357 women and girls aged between 15 and 49 currently working in the entertainment sector of the capital, Phnom Penh, including in brothels, karaoke bars and massage parlours.

“The objective of this research was to measure increases in human trafficking and exploitation in Cambodia as a result of the financial crisis, specifically, the trafficking of women and girls into the entertainment sector,” UNIAP says in a news release issued yesterday.

The report shows that during the crisis, women have entered the sex trade coming from situations where there have been declining working conditions, such as in the garment sector, where they experienced long working hours and low pay.

The most common reason given by the women and girls for entering the sex trade was “difficult family circumstances,” followed by “easily earn a lot of money, in good working conditions.”

Most massage parlour workers, 57 per cent, found their jobs independently, while 46 per cent of karaoke workers found theirs through friends. Nearly 80 per cent of direct sex workers also found their jobs on their own.

The report also found that 58 per cent of women who entered the entertainment sector before the crisis were in debt, while the same was true of 42 per cent who entered after the crisis.

“It could be assumed that the shift in women turning from money lenders to sex establishment bosses for loans may lead to more women being vulnerable to the control tactics and violence that are often thought to be associated with debt bondage,” states UNIAP.

However, it was debts to money lenders, and not debt bondage, that was found to be significantly associated with the worst violence and worst restrictions on freedoms among those surveyed.

The report recommends strengthening social safety nets, designed to meet the needs of families with women who are vulnerable to exploitation and degrading working conditions, as well as linking women who want jobs featuring better working conditions with alternative livelihood training and job placement assistance.

Also recommended is the use of targeted awareness raising and outreach to provide specific, clear information to people who may be vulnerable, for example on how to access social services and training that will lead to jobs, the risks of using moneylenders, and how to qualify for and access safer sources of loans and credit.

Krishna, Clinton head to Thailand Tuesday for security meet

July 20th, 2009
Ians (India)

NEW DELHI - Hours after their meeting in the Indian capital, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will Tuesday head separately to Thailand to attend Asia’s top security forum that will be dominated by terrorism, the North Korean nuclear issue and the global financial crisis.

Clinton leaves Delhi for the Thai island resort Phuket Tuesday morning, followed by Krishna a few hours later.

Krishna’s presence at the post-ministerial meeting of the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 27-nation ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) underlines India’s growing stakes in the economically vibrant East Asian region that boasts an annual output of $1.1 trillion and represents more than half the world’s population.

Krishna is likely to meet the foreign ministers of China, Japan and Australia, among others, on the sidelines of the security meet.

India and ASEAN have finalised a free trade area agreement (FTA) in goods, scheduled to be implemented from Jan 1, 2010. Discussions on agreements in investment and services will start soon. The FTA seeks to eliminate tariffs on over 4,000 products, which include items ranging from chemicals to electronics.

ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei.

Clinton’s participation in the conference will be watched closely as it marks the return of the US to the resource-rich East Asia region, where Beijing and Washington are vying for influence.

New Delhi is a dialogue partner at the ASEAN and participates in the ASEAN summit and the extended 16-nation East Asia summit that also comprises China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand besides the 10 ASEAN nations.

Founded in 1994, the ARF comprises 27 countries, including the 10 ASEAN member states, the 10 ASEAN Dialogue Partners (Australia, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States), and other countries in the Asia and Pacific region (North Korea, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea).

ADB provides over $59 million for Cambodia

June 16, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $59.4 million to Cambodia for its infrastructure improvement, trade crossing border and deals on the global financial crisis, an official said today.

"The budget will be used for improving the irrigation system, agriculture products and public infrastructures," Ieng Sophalet, spokesman to Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters after the talks between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Vice-President of ADB Lawrence Greenwoods at the Cambodian Foreign Ministry.

"It also will facilitate the trade crossing border among the Great Mekong Sub-Region and deals on the global crisis," he added.

"The budget project will be implemented for the next two years from now," he said, adding that it is an additional budget from the ADB after it agreed to provide 194 million U.S. dollars for the next two years.

According to a statement from the ADB, resources are provided in the form of concessional loans and grants to low-income DMCs with limited debt repayment capacity for developing member countries.

“The global financial crisis is adversely affecting Cambodian migrant workers abroad”: Lim Sovannara, UNDP economist

Migrant Work Falls as Countries Close Doors

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 April 2009

The South Korean government has announced a sweeping reduction in the number of migrant laborers Cambodia can send there, striking a blow to an increasing trend even as Malaysia and Thailand have closed their doors to many Cambodian workers.

South Korean officials announced March 29 that a foreign labor quota would be reduced from 65,000 workers to 17,500 for 15 countries, including Cambodia.

“Due to the global economic crisis, we knew that worker demand would be cut down,” Heng Sur, chief of administration and finance for the Ministry of Labor, told VOA Khmer. “But we never expected such a large reduction. It’s four times less than last year.”

As part of the new policy, Cambodia will only be able to send 1,000 workers to South Korea, which had become a popular destination for people seeking work in factories, construction and the service sector. In 2008, the country ranked third in destinations for Cambodian labor, behind Thailand and Malaysia.

In February, Malaysia announced it would no longer accept migrant garment workers from Cambodia. Thailand, meanwhile, has banned all legal migrant workers from the country, according to Cambodian government officials.

Cambodia sent between 7,000 and 8,000 legal workers to Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea in 2008, but demand for such work has plummeted 80 percent in 2009, according to the Cambodian Migrant Labor Association.

“The global financial crisis is adversely affecting Cambodian migrant workers abroad,” Lim Sovannara, a Cambodian economist at UNDP, wrote in an e-mail. “The three main receiving countries are tightening their policies on migrant workers in an effort to free up jobs for their own people…putting greater pressure on the capacity of the agriculture sector to absorb those returnees.”

While some economists worry over the future for legal migrants, others worry the new policies will open up exploitation of migrants who seek work abroad illegally.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government is spending $7.2 million in vocational training for workers that have lost their jobs to the global downturn.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Stimulus Package

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Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

S Korea to help Cambodia launch stock market in December

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Cambodian government will sign an official agreement next week to help launch the kingdom's proposed stock exchange market in December, national media said on Friday.

Three state-owned enterprises were likely to be the first to list on the bourse after its expected inauguration, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted KRX manager Inpyo Lee as saying.

Formalizing the arrangement would make legally binding on both parties and move the exchange a step closer to reality, said Lee.

"It is just a gentlemen's agreement," he added.

The capital contribution of each side was confidential at this stage, but the Cambodian side would own 55 percent of the exchange and KRX of South Korea would control the remaining 45 percent, he said.

The exchange was on track for a December launch, provided the companies slated to be listed could complete preparation on time, he said.

"It is critical (that they are ready)," he said, adding that listing rules would be issued in March.

Due to the current global financial crisis, the Cambodian government once admitted postponement of inaugurating the market, but later denied it and insisted that the plan would go on as expected.