PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that Cambodia is able to host the 2023 SEA Games thanks to His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, who presided over the first international sporting competition hosted in Cambodia, the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) in 1966.

The Prime Minister made this statement during a dinner meeting with athletes on Monday evening, 3 April 2023.

"I should emphasize at this event that while we have organized the SEA Games in 2023, we should remember the noble merits of His Majesty the King, the former head of state of Cambodia, who in his time worked hard to build the National Olympic Stadium, which was then used for GANEFO," said Prime Minister Hun Sen.

He added that although Cambodia went through a devastating war under the Pol Pot regime, the Olympic Stadium is still a good base for Cambodia to host the 2023 SEA Games.