Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces.

Cambodia is now officially the Kingdom of Cambodia. Cambodia owns large forests of the most precious woods and the most productive gem mines of the world (except diamonds). Much of the country is a fertile plain nurtured by one of the most powerful rivers of Asia, the Mekong.

from CIA World Fact Book and various sources

For more information on our Cambodia affairs, please contact:
Frances Zwenig
Counselor covering Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam
fzwenig@usasean.org or

Please contact Frances Zwenig at fzwenig@usasean.org for upcoming Cambodia event in the works.

more upcoming events

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

more headline news

2009 Business Mission to Cambodia

Phnom Penh, March 5-6, 2009

Above: Reception hosted by US Ambassador Carol Rodley at her home in honor of the US-ASEAN Business Council delegation, March 5, 2009. In attendance, from left: Frances A. Zwenig, Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister of Commerce Keat Chon, Ambassador Rodley, Minister of Health Mam Bunheng, Ministry of Finance Secretary of State Dr. Naron.

The US-ASEAN Business Council concluded its annual business mission to Cambodia on March 6th h, 2009 after meeting cabinet officials, World Bank officials, and other members of the business community. Seven companies represented a range of different sectors. The companies were: Abbott, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, GE, JHPIEGO, Qualcomm, and Time Warner

The mission was co-led by Trond-Eric Johannsen and Bill Lafferandre of ConocoPhillips, and Frances Zwenig, US-ASEAN Business Council.

The mission discussed greater avenues for economic engagement between the United States and Cambodia and priorities for the Cambodian government. Company issues ranged from the development of the telecommunications industry—including cinemas, IPR and Piracy, overlapping claims, access to health and medicine, energy and medical devices, and training programs in health, regulatory development, and legal training.

The Council’s message throughout these meetings included reassurances that the United States private sector continues to look to Southeast Asia and Cambodia for investment and trade opportunities and will bring not only business but also training programs and CSR projects to the communities which they worked. The Royal Government of Cambodia in response was open and willing to work with US businesses to ensure the best possible investment environment.

For a press release from the Mission, click here. For a full mission report, click here (Council members only).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -