Government
International relations
US president notes election success at ASEAN Summit
The weekend’s ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur put US President Barack Obama and President U Thein Sein together for the first time since the election. While peddling his Asian pivot trade deal at the meeting, Mr Obama took a softer diplomatic tone than usual, lauding the ...
Cambodian PM urges cooperation on climate problems
Prime Minister Hun Sen on 21 November called for stronger cooperation in implementing the ASEAN-US Joint Statement on Climate Change, noting that the phenomenon is “obviously happening”. The statement, adopted last November, calls on ASEAN members to implement 33 points, such as ratifying Kyoto Protocol goals and ...
Cambodian PM urges US to drop tariffs
Prime Minister Hun Sen urged policymakers in Washington to expand its preferential treatment of goods imported from least-developed countries (LDCs) including Cambodia by increasing the amount of goods permitted duty- and quota-free access to the US market. “Cambodia would like to request that the US provide ...
Chinese premier highlights railway, FTA in talks with Lao, New Zealand PMs
The cooperation on a railway linking China and Laos has been advancing smoothly and the foundation stone will soon be laid to start its construction, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here on 21 November. Li called the railway one of the new fruits of bilateral cooperation ...
ASEAN Summit: Heavy workload awaits leaders starting to arrive
A gruelling workload and hectic pace awaits 18 heads of states and governments who will be arriving here today to attend the 27th ASEAN Summit and related summits. The two days in Kuala Lumpur is no holiday for them, with 10 summits and 59 documents to pore ...
Vietnam, New Zealand sign four agreements
Vietnamese and New Zealand businesses signed four agreements on 15 November during the official visit by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to Vietnam. The four business-to-business arrangements – between Global Trust Alliance, AsureQuality and Vinamilk, Airways International and the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation, Airways International ...
US pledges $259m to SE Asian allies for maritime security
The United States said on 16 November it would provide US$259 million to its Southeast Asian allies for maritime security, as tensions rise over Beijing’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea. The pledges of support to the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia came shortly after US ...
ASEAN integration concerns aired at grassroots event
Hundreds gathered on 16 November in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park for the fifth Cambodian Grassroots People’s Assembly, where they called for issues ranging from deforestation to democracy to be addressed ahead of ASEAN integration. About 700 people from the Cambodian Cross Sector Network, a group made up ...
Mekong nations launch Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework
The Mekong River has always been an important trade route between Western China and Southeast Asia flowing through six different countries. The six foreign ministers met for the first time to frame a cooperation mechanism, agreeing to launch significant projects to enhance water resources, public health, ...
Vietnamese Deputy PM highlights importance of Mekong countries' partnership
Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has highlighted that co-operation among upper and lower Mekong countries for the sustainable management and use of the Mekong River should be the top priority for the Mekong-Lancang partnership. Speaking at the first Mekong-Lancang Foreign Ministers’ ...
