His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, departed here this morning for Paris, France to officiate the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor).
The monarch was seen off at Phnom Penh International Airport by National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, Senate President Samdech Vibol Sena Pheakdei Say Chhum, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, and many other high-ranking officials as well as royal family members.
His Majesty the King will stay in France until May 26, 2019 and during his absence, Samdech Say Chhum will act as the Acting Head of State.
ICC-Angkor was established in December 1993. Co-chaired by France and Japan, ICC-Angkor is an international coordinating mechanism for the assistance provided by different countries and organisations for the safeguarding and development of the historic site of Angkor.
In order to fulfil its role, the ICC-Angkor is kept informed about scientific projects or development operations undertaken on the site and in the Siem Reap-Angkor region. It sees to the consistency of the various projects and defines the technical and financial standards required when necessary. It highlights, when needed, any points requiring the attention of concerned parties.
The ICC-Angkor implements procedures to undertake assessments and follow-up of scientific, conservation and development projects for the Angkor site.
The ICC-Angkor is coordinating the preparation of a methodological document on the ethics and practice of conservation at Angkor (conservation, showcasing and development): the Charter for Angkor.
The ICC-Angkor holds two sessions a year, one at the plenary level and one at the technical level.
The Plenary Session of the ICC-Angkor examines general policy matters, determines central priorities and approves new project proposals. It normally holds one meeting per year at the level of Ambassadors. The Technical Session of the ICC-Angkor also meets once a year and is responsible for the follow-up of the different projects, activities and research carried out by operators intervening at the site of Angkor.
In addition, two ad hoc group of experts (for conservation and sustainable development) are operational. The mandates of these groups are to examine any technical question and to give guidance using recommendations on the implementation of projects. Composed of four experts in conservation and three in sustainable development, the groups of experts are independent of each other. Finally, so-called Quadripartite Meetings are organised periodically between France, Japan, the Royal Government of Cambodia and UNESCO in order to examine technical matters concerned with the functioning of the ICC-Angkor.