Government
Cambodia spoiled ASEAN statement on sea: reports
Cambodia helped to scupper an ASEAN joint statement on the South China Sea last week, according to news reports, an echo of the success it had killing a similar statement when it was chair of the regional bloc four years ago. The Foreign Affairs Ministry issued its ...
Financial commission moves to reapportion union budget
The Financial Commission hopes to reapportion the 2016-17 Union Budget, looking to allocate more funds to the education, health and social welfare sectors. Zaw Htay, President’s Office spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on 16 June that Vice President Myint Swe manages the budgets of Union-level ministries and agencies, ...
Vietnam, Cambodia issue Joint Statement
At the invitation of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, H. E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , and Madame Nguyen Thi Hien led a high – level Vietnamese delegation to pay a ...
Vietnam, Cambodia agree to push forwards bilateral ties
Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to continue their mutual support and close collaboration in order to strengthen the “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation” between the two countries, thus bringing pragmatic interests to their people. President Tran Dai Quang noted his hope ...
UNFC proposes more negotiations prior to Suu Kyi meeting
The United Nationalities Federal Council, an alliance of nine ethnic armed groups, has told Burma’s peace delegation that it would like to hold additional talks with lead negotiator Dr. Tin Myo Win before meeting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Tun Zaw, the secretary of the ...
Vietnam may have new agency to manage state enterprises
The Vietnamese government is considering setting up a new agency to manage state-owned enterprises more effectively, but some economists have questioned the necessity of such a plan. Economist Ngo Tri Long urged the government to consider the plan thoroughly, arguing that a new agency means more resources ...
Laos, China to ink further tourism cooperation initiatives
The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos and China’s National Tourism Administration will sign a memorandum of understanding on ‘Development of Quality Standards for Tourist Attractions’ in the near future to boost bilateral tourism cooperation between the two countries. These fairs offer many countries ...
Rangoon division parliament demands crackdown on drugs
On 14 June, more than a dozen National League for Democracy lawmakers in the Rangoon Division parliament demanded that authorities crack down on big-time drug dealers and smugglers in the city, who keep evading arrest, citing the worsening effect of drugs on Rangoon’s youth. “One of ...
PM challenges EU to follow through on threat to cut aid
Prime Minister Hun Sen on 13 June blithely brushed aside a recent threat from the European Parliament to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Cambodia over human rights abuses, challenging the body to follow through.“I am never afraid of China because Cambodia has ...
EC, NLA unnerved by referendum-law challenge
The chiefs of the Election Commission and the National Legislative Assembly showed confidence on 9 June the draft charter referendum remained on course despite the latest decision by the Constitutional Court. The controversial words are “violent, aggressive, rude,” which the petitioners find vague and subjective and open ...
