PHNOM PENH: The King of Cambodia, His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, and Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, donated US $1.5 million to mine action, which was handed over to the Royal Government at the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) on Tuesday morning, 26 July.
The representative of the Ministry of the Royal Palace and Personal Adviser to the King, Kuy Sophal, handed over the Royal Letter and Royal Property of the King and Queen Mother to the Representative of the Royal Government received by the Acting Secretary of State of the Office of the Council of Ministers, Seng Teang, the First Deputy Chairman, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), Ly Thuch, and the Director General of CMAC, Heng Ratana.
Mr. Kuy Sophal also handed over the message of the King and Queen Mother, as well as the royal property, to Prime Minister Hun Sen during the ceremony.
In the royal message, the King and Queen Mother stated that they wished “Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei and His Excellencies, Members of the Royal Government of Cambodia, new successes for the benefit of the nation and the people of Cambodia,” as well as the best of luck.
Prime Minister Hun Sen also presented a letter of thanks to the King and Queen Mother for providing much-needed funds to help clear mines throughout Cambodia.
The Prime Minister said, “In response to His Majesty's merits and the deepest humanitarian will, I and all members of the Royal Government bow down to His Excellency, Your Majesty the King, possessing the four blessings of the Buddha: age, class, happiness, and strength”.
Currently, Cambodia has almost 2,000 square kilometers of land that still needs to be cleared of mines, equivalent to more than 14,000 minefields.
A report from the Mine Authority states that from 1992 to May 2022, nationwide demining efforts achieved more than 2.4 billion square meters of land being cleared, equivalent to more than 1 million anti-personnel mines, more than 260,000 mines and more than 3 million explosive remnants of war. So far there have been 65,003 victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war in Cambodia, including 4,793 women, 6,106 boys, 1,393 girls. Of the victims, 19,818 died, 9,077 survived with disabilities and 36,108 survived with injuries.
