Rasmei Kampuchea
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
"Hun Sen said that Cambodia is poor, therefore, the only way for Cambodia to develop is to beg from friends..."Prime Minister Hun Sen requested Japan to continue to provide its aid, without having to repay back, in order to rebuild a section of National Road No. 2 linking Phnom Penh to Takeo so that it can be connected to another road section, built also with Japanese aid, from Takeo to Phnom Den, along the Vietnamese border. Hun Sen raised this issue, on 04 June 2007, during an inauguration ceremony for the opening of 3 bridges built with Japanese aid, at Stung Slakou, Takeo province.
Turning to the Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, Hun Sen said that the section of the National Road No. 2 linking Takeo city to the Vietnamese border has already been built with Japanese aid. However, now, the section of National Road 2 from Phnom Penh to Takeo has not been rebuilt yet. Hun Sen said that Japan built a load of roads for Cambodia, but that there is no road that is entirely rebuilt by Japan alone yet. (So far, Japan helped rebuild sections of roads only,) such as a section of National Road No. 6 until the intersection with National Road No. 7; the section of National Road No. 6 linking Roluos to Siem Reap; the section of National Road No. 2 linking Takeo to Phnom Den; and the section of National Road No. 1 linking Neak Leung to Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen told the Japanese Ambassador directly: “I am begging Japan to help with the entire National Road No. 2” and he said that he plans to provide this proposal to Japan before his upcoming official visit to Japan.
Hun Sen added that several roads were built with foreign aids, for example, National Road No. 3 was entirely rebuilt by South Korea, China decided to rebuild the entire National Road No. 8 by itself, Thailand is helping with National Road No. 67 and National Road No. 48, therefore, Japan should take full responsibility for (the rebuilding of the entire) National Road No. 2.
Hun Sen said that Cambodia is poor, therefore, the only way for Cambodia to develop is to beg from friends, and Japan is one of the countries which provide the most aid.
Hun Sen also declared that he will plan for a meeting of the council of ministers to be held (somewhere) along National Road 48, a road corridor built next to the sea, once its construction is completed. The meeting will be held there so that members of his government can see with their own eyes a road corridor built along the seashore, a first in Cambodia. This means that the meeting will be held in Koh Kong province, but once the government members know this new road corridor, they can then reach Veal Renh by crossing National Road No. 3 from Trapeang Prov to return to Phnom Penh. This is an important seashore corridor. Hun Sen said that this planned meeting will be held during this mandate, prior to the 2008 election.
