Singapore's PM, Philippine speaker, Indonesian FM to pay tribute to late King-Father Sihanouk

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit Cambodia to pay their last respects to the late former King Norodom Sihanouk, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

In its separate statements, the ministry said that Lee will arrive in Cambodia on Sunday to pay homage to Sihanouk at the capital's Royal Palace. After the homage, he will hold a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace.

Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. will arrive on the same day, while Marty Natalegawa will get here on Monday.

After the ceremony, Marty will hold official talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

On Friday afternoon, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited the country to pay tribute to the late King-Father.

The most revered ex-King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing on Monday and his body was transported to Phnom Penh by Air China jumbo jet on Wednesday afternoon.

The country announced a week of mourning from Oct. 17-23, and the body of the King-Father will be lying in state at least three months at the Royal Palace before it is cremated.

Born on Oct. 31, 1922, Sihanouk reigned the country from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication on Oct. 7, 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.

He was the king who led the country to gain independence from France in 1953. He had been a presence through decades of political and social turmoil in Cambodia, despite long periods of exile overseas.

He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years before his death.

Sourced: Xinhuanet