PHNOM PENH: King Norodom Sihamoni inaugurated a historical two-day event this morning when he opened the first meeting of the 7th mandated National Assembly. He welcomed many new members of the legislative body, which is expected to confirm Dr. Hun Manet as prime minister tomorrow, making it the first time in nearly 40 years that Cambodia will be led by someone other than his father, Prime Minister Hun Sen.

While opening the 7th mandate of the National Assembly this morning, King Norodom Sihamoni expressed confidence in the newly formed session to serve the nation by fulfilling campaign promises and adhering to Buddhist virtues and a spirit of national unity.

He said that he trusts the new administration to fulfill its policy obligations by continuing to promote economic growth, improve people's living standards, and strengthen the social protection system.

He said that from the time the National Assembly was re-established 30 years ago in 1993, Cambodia grew from a nation divided into one with peace, stability, democracy and development that allows people to live in peace, hope and well-being.

He expressed confidence that the National Assembly will continue to fulfill its duties as stipulated in the Constitution and enforce laws towards continued political, economic, social and cultural sustainability to build Cambodia into a strong and progressive state. He stressed the need to implement the law fairly and to ensure the protection and promotion of all rights and freedoms of the people.

The king instructed the members of the National Assembly, as representatives of the Cambodian nation, to make more efforts to help people achieve equality in religion, education, employment, and decent work according to their ability and level of education. He encouraged the new legislative session to continue promoting economic growth, improving living standards for the people, and strengthening the social protection system.

He also highlighted the importance of preserving sustainable cultural development to ensure the strong existence of national identity by promoting socio-economic development in the spirit of national harmony.

He said that in order to reach the nation’s full potential, Cambodia must have a high degree of national unity and solidarity, rooted in the four Buddhist principles of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity.

"On this auspicious occasion, I wish the 7th National Assembly to run smoothly and perform its role with a responsible conscience in order to achieve new successes for the common good of the nation to our motherland and our entire nation," he said.