Successful Conclusion of the 17th Plenary Meeting of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historical Site of Angkor (ICC)

The 17th Plenary Meeting of the ICC, held on 25 November 2010 in Siem Reap, was
concluded in the afternoon of the same day under the chairmanship of H.E. Dr. Sok An,
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and
Chairman of the APSARA Authority.
The one-day meeting saw the signing of the Agreement of International Cooperation on
Preservation of the Temple of Preah Vihear between the National Authority for Preah
Vihear and ICCROM, an important component of UNESCO.
The meeting received report of interventions from 18 involved partner countries and
4 major organizations. The report describes the international cooperation work for the
last 18 years, in which there have been approximately 60 main projects carried out in
preserving and developing the Historical Site of Angkor.
The presentation mainly focused on repairing work of various sites; reports on
community development projects, Angkor management, and other development projects
including the project to use earpiece service guide for tourists and the project of having
Angkor illuminated at nighttime, etc. Cooperation partner countries and UNESCO
representatives expressed their satisfaction for the results of the APSARA Authority’s
work of safeguarding Angkor. Meanwhile, the Co-Chairmen of the ICC approved the
ICC’s recommendations made in the technical meeting 6 months ago, and the meeting
also set forth some recommendations, one of which is cultural vision for development.
The UNECSCO representatives deemed the ICC Angkor as a model which has been
duplicated for use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
H.E. Dr. Sok An was proud of the achievements attained by the APSARA Authority and
Partner Countries on the conservation and development work in Angkor area. He also
recalled the time when Cambodia had submitted its report and documents to the World
Heritage Committee in July 2010, and the Committee was very satisfied with them. It
was a great success for Cambodia.
In the same afternoon, H.E. Dr. Sok An also presided over the Inauguration Ceremony
of Antique Exhibition at Preah Norodom Sihanouk Angkor Museum with the
participation of representatives from the partner countries as well. Those antiques were
discovered at the west Baray (reservoir) pre-historical site or at Baray Teuk Tla.