PHNOM PENH, Nov 11 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodian King, Norodom Sihamoni, yesterday left for the French capital, Paris, to attend the 41st General Conference of UNESCO, on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, which will be held for five days until Nov 14.
In a royal message to the Cambodian people, Sihamoni, 68, said, he will be absent from the kingdom from Nov 10 (yesterday) to Nov 15, and during his absence, Senate President, Samdech Say Chhum, will be the acting head of state.
Sihamoni was seen off by the Cambodian Prime Minister, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and other high-profile figures, at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
The king will deliver a speech at the official opening ceremony of the General Conference tomorrow, which centres on the crucial achievements of UNESCO in Cambodia, the foreign ministry said, in a press release.
“Since its establishment in 1945, UNESCO has significantly contributed, through its programmes of multilateral cooperation, to the promotion of education, science, culture and communication in the world,” the ministry said.
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has played an important role in the conservation and protection of Cambodia’s cultural properties.
To date, the nation has three tangible cultural properties and five intangible cultural heritages inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The listed tangible cultural properties include the Angkor Archaeological Park, Preah Vihear Temple, and Sambor Prei Kuk Archaeological Site.
On the list of the intangible cultural heritages are the Royal Ballet, Sbek Thom or Khmer Shadow Puppetry, tug-of-war game, Chapei Dang Veng, which is a long-necked, two-stringed lute, and Lkhon Khol, a masked dance-theatre.– NNN-AKP
