19th Plenary Session of ICC-Angkor in Siem Reap Province

Cambodia hosted on Dec. 5-6 the 19th Plenary Session of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) at the APSARA National Authority’s headquarters in Siem Reap province, home to Angkor temples.

The Royal Government of Cambodia was represented by Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Sok An, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of APSARA National Authority, while UNESCO by Ms. Anne Lemaistre, UNESCO Representative to Cambodia.

Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia H.E. Masafumi Kuroki and Chargé d’Affaires of the French Embassy Mr. Dominique Mas were present at the opening ceremony.

In the morning of Dec. 5, a tour was organized for the ICC-Angkor participants, to show the hydraulic structures and the urban heritage of Siem Reap. The tour highlighted the work done in the past years to prevent Angkor and Siem Reap from flooding and efforts to preserve Siem Reap’s urban heritage. This visit was organized by the Secretariat of the ICC-Angkor in collaboration with APSARA National Authority.

The afternoon of Dec. 5-6 was devoted to a number of presentations by specialists, covering issues of conservation, archaeological research, tourism, and community development, particularly, discussions on various themes related to Angkor and its population.

Angkor was first inscribed on the World Heritage in Danger List in 1992, and in 1993 the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) was established to protect, preserve and develop this vast cultural heritage site.

The ICC-Angkor was set up in the wake of the Tokyo Conference in 1993 and confirmed by the Paris Conference in 2003.

The ICC-Angkor has convened regularly twice a year, thus consistently following up with all operations being carried out on the site.

The ICC-Angkor and the Royal Government of Cambodia have received assistance from and cooperated closely with 14 countries and 28 international institutions in implementing more than 60 different projects for the preservation and development of the Angkor World Heritage Site, including the Angkor Wat Temple.

Sourced: AKP