PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered a congratulatory message to Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk on the occasion of the upcoming new year, 2022.

He expressed his gratitude to the Queen Mother who has participated in the royal activities of the Cambodian Red Cross and acted as the Honorary President of both the Cambodian Red Cross and the Cambodian National Council for Women.

"In her royal activities as the Honorary President of the Cambodian Red Cross and the National Council of Cambodia for Women, [the Queen Mother] has made valuable contributions to solving the problems of the people and promoting the role of women in Cambodian society. And especially, she is always pure in heart, and she is willing to give a lot of royal wealth to help in the field of Buddhism, education, social affairs, humanities, welfare and livelihood of the people,” said the Prime Minister.

Previously, while delivering a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Cambodia-China Stung Trang-Krouch Chhmar Friendship Bridge on 23 November 2021, Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that the King and Queen Mother, are both very concerned about the well-being of the Cambodian people, despite having less wealth than royalty of other countries.

In particular, the Prime Minister highlighted how the King has often donated his own money to the Royal Government in order to build hospitals, buy vaccines and other humanitarian aid. Prime Minister Hun Sen said he considers both the King’s actions and dedication as a major national move to resolve the crisis in Cambodia.

Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk was born as Paule Monique Izzi on 18 June 1936 in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. She married King Norodom Sihanouk in April 1952 and had two sons, King Norodom Sihamoni, the current King of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Prince Norodom Narindrapong.