Cambodia looks to the future after a decade of momentous change

02 Jan 2010 2111 | Cambodia Travel News

Ten years ago, as the new millennium loomed, The Cambodia Daily spoke to a broad swath of Cambodians about their hopes for the future. Those interviewed overwhelmingly said they wished for one thing: peace.

In 2000, the country was still weak-kneed and weary from the 1997 factional fighting. The Khmer Rouge had only recently been brought to heel, and foreign investment was more a wish than a possibility. Since then, Cambodia has held two commune elections and two national elections, joined the World Trade Organization, gained its first international fast-food franchise and established a criminal tribunal to try the vestiges of the Khmer Rouge's upper echelon.

King Norodom Sihamoni has quietly replaced his father, Norodom Sihanouk, as the country?s reigning monarch. Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling CPP have won at the ballot box and tightened their grip on the government.

Most importantly, though, in the past 10 years, Cambodians have settled into a sense of peace. Their eye is now on the next prize: prosperity.

The Cambodia Daily recently asked several prominent Cambodians and Cambodia observers to reflect on the past 10 years and make predictions about what they think the next 10 will bring. Their responses varied widely depending on their interests and expertise, but the rewards and challenges of Cambodia's rapid economic development were a running theme in their appraisals of the past decade and their forecasts of the decade to come.

Sourced = The Cambodia Daily