Phnom Penh (FN), Jan. 15 - The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), under the leadership of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, hosted the first ever meeting of the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) on the 15th January 2019 after the Council’s formation last year, according to the committee’s press release issued on Monday.

The meeting is held in Siem Reap, at Sokha Siem Reap Resort & Convention Center, attended by national and international guests from 26 countries across Asia.

H.E. Kem Reath Viseth, Secretary of State of the Office of the Council of Ministers, will deliver the Royal Message at the beginning of the meeting on the morning of 15th January 2019.

ACC’s chairwoman, Her Excellency Khuon Sudary, the Second Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly of Cambodia, will then deliver her remarks, followed by speeches from ICAPP and UNESCO representatives.

National and international panelists will attend the four round table discussions including topics such as; the Emerging Multi-Conceptual World and Asian Identity, Connecting Culture and Sustainable Development, Harnessing Technology for Civilization Connectivity, and Building a Community for Common Destiny in Asia.

The ACC meeting will issue a Siem Reap Declaration concerning its work after the discussions which will be read by H.E. Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Vice-Chairman and Special Rapporteur of the ICAPP (Pakistan). This will be followed by closing remarks from the Deputy Prime Minister Bin Chhin, Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Organizing the Official Launching of ACC (Cambodia).

H.E. MP Suos Yara, Director General of ACC, is expected to hold a news conference immediately after the event finishes.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is the honorary founding chairman of the ACC, will deliver his remarks in the late afternoon of January 15th to mark the official launching of the ACC, and he will then host a gala dinner at the Elephant Terrace, Angkor, which will be attended by more than 800 guests from national and international executive and legislative bodies. Attendees will include guests who are attending the 27th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-27) on “Strengthening Parliamentary Partnership for Peace, Security and Sustainable Development”, which is taking place from the 13th – 18th January 2019, in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

A range of 270 artists from nine countries, including 165 Cambodian artists, will perform at the gala dinner to celebrate the launch of the ACC in Cambodia.

The organizers of the ACC event will also arrange tours for guests who wish to visit the U.N.-listed Angkor World Heritage Park on the 16th January 2019.

The ACC was established in 2018 by the International Conference of Asia Political Parties (ICAPP) and has representation from more than 350 political parties from 52 countries across the region. The Council is recognized by UNESCO after the tripartite agreement – between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ICAPP, and ACC—was signed on the 4th December 2018 in Siem Reap.
=FRESH NEWS