Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (R) and UNESCO's Director-General Audrey Azoulay attend an event marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on Dec. 4, 2018. Cambodia celebrated here on Tuesday the 25th anniversary of the founding of the ICC-Angkor. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia celebrated here on Tuesday the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor).
Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said peace and political stability are the key factors that enable Cambodia to preserve and develop the Angkor sustainably.
"The Cambodian government sees culture as the spirit and identification of the nation, as the invaluable treasure, and as the sustainable source of income for the nation's economic development," he said during the opening session of the commemorative conference.
"On behalf of the government, I'd like to appeal to friendly countries, development partners, and organizations to continue providing technical, financial, and human resource support to Cambodia for the sustainable protection and preservation of the Historic Site of Angkor," he said.
ICC-Angkor was established in 1993, a year after the Angkor was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Convened twice a year, the ICC-Angkor is the international mechanism for coordinating all assistance extended by different countries and organizations for preserving and developing the Angkor.
Speaking at the event, UNESCO's Director-General Audrey Azoulay praised the Cambodian government for its strong effort and commitment in preserving and developing the Angkor in the past 25 years.
"Today here, I think it's the moment to take stocks of what have been achieved and also of challenges that we face," she said.
The two-day event will be devoted to a number of presentations on main achievements in favor of conservation and sustainable development within the framework of 25 years of the ICC-Angkor by specialists, said a UNESCO's press release.
Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni will preside over the closing ceremony of the conference on Wednesday afternoon, the release said.
Angkor is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation. The ancient site attracted 2.32 million foreign visitors in the first 11 months of 2018, generating a gross revenue of 104 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales, according to a government report.
Cambodia currently has three tangible cultural properties and five intangible cultural heritages listed on the UNESCO's world heritage list.
The listed tangible cultural properties include the Historic Site of Angkor, Preah Vihear Temple, and Sambor Prei Kuk Archeological Site, while the listed intangible cultural heritages are the Royal Ballet, Sbek Thom or Khmer Shadow Puppetry, tug-of-war game, Chapei Dang Veng, a long-necked, two-stringed lute, and Lkhon Khol or masked dance-theater.
