OFFICIAL NAME:
Kingdom of Cambodia

Geography
Area: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.
Cities: Capital--Phnom Penh (pop. 1.2 million), Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom.
Terrain:
Central plain drained by the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and Mekong and
Bassac Rivers. Forests away from the rivers and the lake, mountains in
the southwest (Cardamom Mountains) and north (Dangrek Mountains) along
the border with Thailand.
Climate: Tropical monsoon with rainy season June-Oct. and dry season Nov.-May.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Cambodian(s), Khmer.
Population (2003 est.): 13,124,764.
Avg. annual growth rate (2003 est.) 2.5%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--95/1,000. Life expectancy--53 years male; 59 years female.
Ethnic groups: Cambodian 90%; Chinese and Vietnamese 5% each; small numbers of hill tribes, Chams, and Laotian.
Religions: Theravada Buddhism 95%; Islam; animism; Christian.
Languages:
Khmer (official) spoken by more than 95% of the population; some French
still spoken in urban areas; English increasingly popular as a second
language.
Education: Years compulsory--none. Enrollment--primary school, 93%; grades 7 to 9, 20%; grades 10 to 12, 7%; and post-secondary, 1.2%. Completion rates--primary school, 6.6%; secondary school, 2.4%; university, 0.8%. Literacy (total population over 15 that can read and write, 2003 est.)--69.9% (male 80.5%; female 60.3%).

Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Independence: November 9, 1953.
Constitution: September 24, 1993; amended March 6, 1999.
Branches: Executive--king
(head of state), appointed prime minister, seven deputy prime
ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28 ministers, 135 secretaries of state,
and 146 undersecretaries of state. Legislative--National Assembly, consisting of 123 elected members; Senate, consisting of 61 members. Judicial--Supreme Court and lower courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 20 provinces and 4 municipalities.
Political parties and leaders: Ruling parties—A
coalition government of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by
Samdech Chea Sim, and the National United Front for an Independent,
Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), led by
National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Opposition parties–The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), led by Sam Rainsy; several minor parties.

Economy
GDP (2003 est.): $4.0 billion.
Per capita GDP (2003 est.): $282.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 5.0%.
Inflation (2003 est.): 1.3%.
Natural resources: Timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese and phosphate, hydroelectric potential from the Mekong River.
Agriculture
(33.4% of GDP, 2002 est.): About 4,848,000 hectares (12 million acres)
are unforested land; all are arable with irrigation, but 2.5 million
hectares are cultivated. Products--rice, rubber, corn, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour.
Industry (26.3% of GDP, 2002 est.): Types--garment
and shoe manufacturing, rice milling, tobacco, fisheries and fishing,
wood and wood products, textiles, cement, some rubber production, paper
and food processing.
Services (34.2% of GDP, 2002 est.): Tourism, telecommunications, transportation, and construction.
Central government budget (2003): Revenues--$430 million; expenditures--$644 million; foreign financing--$207 million.
Trade: Exports ($1.683 billion, 2003)--garments, shoes, cigarettes, natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood, fish. Major partners--United States, Germany, U.K., Singapore, Japan, Vietnam. Imports ($1.73 billion, 2003)--fuels, cigarettes, vehicles, consumer goods, machinery. Major partners--Thailand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, United States.
Economic aid received: Pledges of $635 million in grants and concessional loans (2002), with disbursement rate of 79%. Major donors--Asian
Development Bank (ADB), UN Development Program (UNDP), World Bank,
International Monetary Fund, Australia, Canada, Denmark, the EU,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, U.K., U.S. According
to the Cambodian government, actual aid disbursed was $500 million in
2003 with another $207 million in budgetary support in 2003.
Principal foreign commercial investors: Malaysia, Taiwan, U.S., China, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.
Exchange rate (2003): 3,973 riel per U.S.$1.

GEOGRAPHY
Cambodia
is located on mainland Southeast Asia between Thailand to the west and
north and Vietnam to the east. It shares a land border with Laos in the
northeast. Cambodia has a sea coast on the Gulf of Thailand. The
Dangrek Mountain range in the north and Cardamom Mountains in the
southwest form natural boundaries. Principal physical features include
the Tonle Sap lake and the Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Cambodia remains
one of the most heavily forested countries in the region, although
deforestation continues at an alarming rate.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Ninety
percent of Cambodia's population is ethnically Cambodian. Other ethnic
groups include Chinese, Vietnamese, hill tribes, Chams, and Laotian.
Theravada Buddhism is the religion of 95% of the population; Islam,
animism, and Christianity also are practiced. Khmer is the official
language and is spoken by more than 95% of the population. Some French
is still spoken in urban areas, and English is increasingly popular as
a second language.

Angkor Wat
Over a
period of 300 years, between 900 and 1200 AD, the Khmer Kingdom of
Angkor produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural
masterpieces on the northern shore of the Tonle Sap, near the present
town of Siem Reap. The Angkor area stretches 15 miles east to west and
5 miles north to south. Some 72 major temples or other buildings dot
the area. Suryavarman II built the principal temple, Angkor Wat,
between 1112 and 1150. With walls nearly one-half mile on each side,
Angkor Wat portrays the Hindu cosmology with the central towers
representing Mount Meru, home of the gods; the outer walls, the
mountains enclosing the world; and the moat, the oceans beyond. Angkor
Thom, the capital city built after the Cham sack of 1177, is surrounded
by a 300-foot wide moat. Construction of Angkor Thom coincided with a
change from Hinduism to Buddhism. Temples were altered to display
images of the Buddha, and Angkor Wat became a major Buddhist shrine.

During the 15th century, nearly all of
Angkor was abandoned after Siamese attacks. The exception was Angkor
Wat, which remained a shrine for Buddhist pilgrims. The great city and
temples remained largely cloaked by the forest until the late 19th
century when French archaeologists began a long restoration process.
France established the Angkor Conservancy in 1908 to direct restoration
of the Angkor complex. For the next 64 years, the conservancy worked to
clear away the forest, repair foundations, and install drains to
protect the buildings from their most insidious enemy: water. After
1953, the conservancy became a joint project of the French and
Cambodian Governments. Some temples were carefully taken apart stone by
stone and reassembled on concrete foundations. Tourism is now the
second-largest foreign currency earner in Cambodia's economy, and
Angkor Wat has helped attract international tourism to the country.

MODERN HISTORY
Although
Cambodia had a rich and powerful past under the Hindu state of Funan
and the Kingdom of Angkor, by the mid-19th century the country was on
the verge of dissolution. After repeated requests for French
assistance, a protectorate was established in 1863. By 1884, Cambodia
was a virtual colony; soon after it was made part of the Indochina
Union with Annam, Tonkin, Cochin-China, and Laos. France continued to
control the country even after the start of World War II through its
Vichy government. In 1945, the Japanese dissolved the colonial
administration, and King Norodom Sihanouk declared an independent,
anti-colonial government under Prime Minister Son Ngoc Thanh in March
1945. The Allies deposed this government in October. In January 1953,
Sihanouk named his father as regent and went into self-imposed exile,
refusing to return until Cambodia gained genuine independence.

Full Independence
Sihanouk's
actions hastened the French Government's July 4, 1953 announcement of
its readiness to grant independence, which came on November 9, 1953.
The situation remained uncertain until a 1954 conference was held in
Geneva to settle the French-Indochina war. All participants, except the
United States and the State of Vietnam, associated themselves (by
voice) with the final declaration. The Cambodian delegation agreed to
the neutrality of the three Indochinese states but insisted on a
provision in the cease-fire agreement that left the Cambodian
Government free to call for outside military assistance should the Viet
Minh or others threaten its territory.

Neutral Cambodia
Neutrality
was the central element of Cambodian foreign policy during the 1950s
and 1960s. By the mid-1960s, parts of Cambodia's eastern provinces were
serving as bases for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong (NVA/VC)
forces operating against South Vietnam, and the port of Sihanoukville
was being used to supply them. As NVA/VC activity grew, the United
States and South Vietnam became concerned, and in 1969, the United
States began a series of air raids against NVA/VC base areas inside
Cambodia.

Throughout the 1960s,
domestic politics polarized. Opposition grew within the middle class
and among leftists, including Paris-educated leaders such as Son Sen,
Ieng Sary, and Saloth Sar (later known as Pol Pot), who led an
insurgency under the clandestine Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK).

The Khmer Republic and the War
In
March 1970, Gen. Lon Nol deposed Prince Sihanouk and assumed power. On
October 9, the Cambodian monarchy was abolished, and the country was
renamed the Khmer Republic. Hanoi rejected the new republic's request
for the withdrawal of NVA/VC troops and began to reinfiltrate some of
the 2,000-4,000 Cambodians who had gone to North Vietnam in 1954. They
became a cadre in the insurgency. The United States moved to provide
material assistance to the new government's armed forces, which were
engaged against both the Khmer Rouge insurgents and NVA/VC forces. In
April 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia in a
campaign aimed at destroying NVA/VC base areas. Although a considerable
quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed, NVA/VC forces proved
elusive and moved deeper into Cambodia. NVA/VC units overran many
Cambodian Army positions while the Khmer Rouge expanded their
smallscale attacks on lines of communication.

The Khmer Republic's
leadership was plagued by disunity among its members, the problems of
transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more
than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption. The insurgency continued to
grow, with supplies and military support provided by North Vietnam. But
inside Cambodia, Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over
the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the
same time, the Khmer Rouge forces became stronger and more independent
of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1974, Lon Nol's control was reduced to
small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More
than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other
cities.

On New Year's Day 1975,
communist troops launched an offensive that, in 117 days of the hardest
fighting of the war, destroyed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks
around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while
other Khmer Rouge units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower
Mekong resupply route. A U.S.-funded airlift of ammunition and rice
ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. Phnom Penh
surrendered on April 17, 1975--5 days after the U.S. mission evacuated
Cambodia.

Democratic Kampuchea
Many
Cambodians welcomed the arrival of peace, but the Khmer Rouge soon
turned Cambodia--which it called Democratic Kampuchea (DK)--into a land
of horror. Immediately after its victory, the new regime ordered the
evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population
out into the countryside to till the land. Thousands starved or died of
disease during the evacuation. Many of those forced to evacuate the
cities were resettled in new villages, which lacked food, agricultural
implements, and medical care. Many starved before the first harvest,
and hunger and malnutrition--bordering on starvation--were constant
during those years. Those who resisted or who questioned orders were
immediately executed, as were most military and civilian leaders of the
former regime who failed to disguise their pasts.

Within the CPK, the
Paris-educated leadership--Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea, and Son
Sen--was in control, and Pol Pot was made Prime Minister. Prince
Sihanouk was put under virtual house arrest. The new government sought
to restructure Cambodian society completely. Remnants of the old
society were abolished, and Buddhism suppressed.

Agriculture was
collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was
abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a
currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect of
life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience through
terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed records were
kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions of those
considered unreliable or with links to the previous government were
common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and fleeing the
country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979
are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were
brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands more died of
starvation and disease--both under the Khmer Rouge and during the
Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7
million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3
million.

Democratic Kampuchea's
relations with Vietnam and Thailand worsened rapidly as a result of
border clashes and ideological differences. While communist, the CPK
was fiercely anti-Vietnamese, and most of its members who had lived in
Vietnam were purged. Democratic Kampuchea established close ties with
China, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict became part of the
Sino-Soviet rivalry, with Moscow backing Vietnam. Border clashes
worsened when Democratic Kampuchea's military attacked villages in
Vietnam.

In mid-1978, Vietnamese
forces invaded Cambodia, advancing about 30 miles before the arrival of
the rainy season. In December 1978, Vietnam announced formation of the
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (KUFNS) under Heng
Samrin, a former DK division commander. It was composed of Khmer
communists who had remained in Vietnam after 1975 and officials from
the eastern sector--like Heng Samrin and Hun Sen--who had fled to
Vietnam from Cambodia in 1978. In late December 1978, Vietnamese forces
launched a full invasion of Cambodia, capturing Phnom Penh on January
7, 1979 and driving the remnants of Democratic Kampuchea's army
westward toward Thailand.

The Vietnamese Occupation
On
January 10, 1979, the Vietnamese installed Heng Samrin as head of state
in the new People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The Vietnamese Army
continued its pursuit of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge forces. At least 600,000
Cambodians displaced during the Pol Pot era and the Vietnamese invasion
began streaming to the Thai border in search of refuge.

The international community
responded with a massive relief effort coordinated by the United States
through the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program.
More than $400 million was provided between 1979 and 1982, of which the
United States contributed nearly $100 million. At one point, more than
500,000 Cambodians were living along the Thai-Cambodian border and more
than 100,000 in holding centers inside Thailand.

Vietnam's occupation army
of as many as 200,000 troops controlled the major population centers
and most of the countryside from 1979 to September 1989. The Heng
Samrin regime's 30,000 troops were plagued by poor morale and
widespread desertion. Resistance to Vietnam's occupation continued. A
large portion of the Khmer Rouge's military forces eluded Vietnamese
troops and established themselves in remote regions. The non-communist
resistance, consisting of a number of groups which had been fighting
the Khmer Rouge after 1975--including Lon Nol-era soldiers--coalesced
in 1979-80 to form the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces
(KPNLAF), which pledged loyalty to former Prime Minister Son Sann, and
Moulinaka (Movement pour la Liberation Nationale de Kampuchea), loyal
to Prince Sihanouk. In 1979, Son Sann formed the Khmer People's
National Liberation Front (KPNLF) to lead the political struggle for
Cambodia's independence. Prince Sihanouk formed his own organization,
National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and
Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), and its military arm, the Armee
Nationale Sihanoukienne (ANS) in 1981.

Within Cambodia, Vietnam
had only limited success in establishing its client Heng Samrin regime,
which was dependent on Vietnamese advisers at all levels. Security in
some rural areas was tenuous, and major transportation routes were
subject to interdiction by resistance forces. The presence of
Vietnamese throughout the country and their intrusion into nearly all
aspects of Cambodian life alienated much of the populace. The
settlement of Vietnamese nationals, both former residents and new
immigrants, further exacerbated anti-Vietnamese sentiment. Reports of
the numbers involved vary widely, with some estimates as high as 1
million. By the end of the decade, Khmer nationalism began to reassert
itself against the traditional Vietnamese enemy. In 1986, Hanoi claimed
to have begun withdrawing part of its occupation forces. At the same
time, Vietnam continued efforts to strengthen its client regime, the
PRK, and its military arm, the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed
Forces (KPRAF). These withdrawals continued over the next 2 years, and
the last Vietnamese troops left Cambodia in September 1989.

Peace Efforts
From
July 30 to August 30, 1989, representatives of 18 countries, the four
Cambodian parties, and the UN Secretary General met in Paris in an
effort to negotiate a comprehensive settlement. They hoped to achieve
those objectives seen as crucial to the future of post-occupation
Cambodia--a verified withdrawal of the remaining Vietnamese occupation
troops, the prevention of the return to power of the Khmer Rouge, and
genuine self-determination for the Cambodian people. A comprehensive
settlement was agreed upon on August 28, 1990.

Cambodia's Renewal
On
October 23, 1991, the Paris Conference reconvened to sign a
comprehensive settlement giving the UN full authority to supervise a
cease-fire, repatriate the displaced Khmer along the border with
Thailand, disarm and demobilize the factional armies, and prepare the
country for free and fair elections. Prince Sihanouk, President of the
Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), and other members of the
SNC returned to Phnom Penh in November 1991, to begin the resettlement
process in Cambodia. The UN Advance Mission for Cambodia (UNAMIC) was
deployed at the same time to maintain liaison among the factions and
begin demining operations to expedite the repatriation of approximately
370,000 Cambodians from Thailand.

On March 16, 1992, the UN
Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) arrived in Cambodia to begin
implementation of the UN Settlement Plan. The UN High Commissioner for
Refugees began fullscale repatriation in March 1992. UNTAC grew into a
22,000-strong civilian and military peacekeeping force to conduct free
and fair elections for a constituent assembly.

Over 4 million Cambodians
(about 90% of eligible voters) participated in the May 1993 elections,
although the Khmer Rouge or Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), whose
forces were never actually disarmed or demobilized, barred some people
from participating. Prince Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party was the top vote
recipient with a 45.5% vote, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's
Party and the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, respectively.
FUNCINPEC then entered into a coalition with the other parties that had
participated in the election. The parties represented in the 120-member
assembly proceeded to draft and approve a new constitution, which was
promulgated September 24, 1993. It established a multiparty liberal
democracy in the framework of a constitutional monarchy, with the
former Prince Sihanouk elevated to King. Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen
became First and Second Prime Ministers, respectively, in the Royal
Cambodian Government (RGC). The constitution provides for a wide range
of internationally recognized human rights.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Cambodia
is a constitutional monarchy, and its constitution provides for a
multiparty democracy. The Royal Government of Cambodia, formed on the
basis of elections internationally recognized as free and fair, was
established on September 24, 1993.

The executive branch comprises the king,
who is head of state; an appointed prime minister; seven deputy prime
ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28 ministers, 135 secretaries of
state, and 146 undersecretaries of state. The bicameral legislature
consists of a 123-member elected National Assembly and a 61-member
Senate. The judiciary includes a Supreme Court and lower courts.
Administrative subdivisions are 20 provinces and 4 municipalities.

Compared to its recent past, the
1993-2003 period was one of relative stability for Cambodia. However,
political violence continued to be a problem. In 1997, factional
fighting between supporters of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen
broke out, resulting in more than 100 FUNCINPEC deaths and a few
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) casualties. Some FUNCINPEC leaders were
forced to flee the country, and Hun Sen took over as Prime Minister.
FUNCINPEC leaders returned to Cambodia shortly before the 1998 National
Assembly elections. In those elections, the CPP received 41% of the
vote, FUNCINPEC 32%, and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) 13%. Due to
political violence, intimidation, and lack of media access, many
international observers judged the elections to have been seriously
flawed. The CPP and FUNCINPEC formed another coalition government, with
CPP the senior partner.

Cambodia's first commune elections were
held in February 2002. These elections to select chiefs and members of
1,621 commune (municipality) councils also were marred by political
violence and fell short of being free and fair by international
standards. The election results were largely acceptable to the major
parties, though procedures for the new local councils have not been
fully implemented.

National Assembly elections in July 2003
failed to give any one party the two-thirds majority of seats required
under the constitution to form a government. The CPP secured 73 seats,
FUNCINPEC 26 seats, and the SRP 24 seats. As a result, the incumbent
CPP-led administration continued in power in a caretaker role pending
the formation of a coalition with the required number of National
Assembly seats to form a government.

On July 8, 2004, the National Assembly
approved a controversial addendum to the constitution in order to
require a vote on a new government and to end the nearly year-long
political stalemate. The vote took place on July 15, and the National
Assembly approved a new coalition government comprised of the CPP and
FUNCINPEC, with Hun Sen as Prime Minister and Prince Norodom Ranariddh
as President of the National Assembly. The SRP and representatives of
civil society NGOs have asserted the addendum was unconstitutional. The
SRP boycotted the vote and currently is in opposition.

On October 7, 2004, King Sihanouk
abdicated the throne due to illness. On October 14, the Cambodian
Throne Council selected Prince Norodom Sihamoni to succeed Sihanouk as
King. King Norodom Sihamoni will officially ascend the throne in a
coronation ceremony to be held on October 29.

The constitution provides for a wide
range of internationally recognized human rights, including freedom of
the press. While limitations still exist, freedom of the press has
improved markedly in Cambodia since the adoption of the 1993
constitution, which grants a certain degree of freedom to the media.
The written press is vibrant and largely free, though many have ties to
individual political parties or factions and do not seek to provide
objective reporting or analysis. Cambodia has an estimated 20
Khmer-language newspapers that are published regularly. Of these, eight
are published daily. There are two major English-language newspapers,
one of which is produced daily. Broadcast media, in contrast to print,
is more closely controlled. It tends to be politically affiliated, and
access for opposition parties is extremely limited.

Principal Government Officials
King and Head of State--Norodom Sihamoni
Prime Minister and Head of Government--Hun Sen
President of the Senate--Chea Sim
President of National Assembly--Prince Norodom Ranariddh

Cambodia's embassy in the United States is located at 4530 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20011; tel: (202) 726-7742; fax: (202) 726-8381.

ECONOMY
In
spite of recent progress, the Cambodian economy continues to suffer
from the legacy of decades of war and internal strife. Per capita
income and education levels are lower than in most neighboring
countries. Infrastructure remains inadequate. Most rural households
depend on agriculture and its related subsectors. Manufacturing output
is concentrated in the garment-manufacturing sector. This sector
started to expand rapidly in the mid-1990s and now employs more than
200,000 workers but faces an uncertain future with the end of textile
quotas at the end of 2004. The other main foreign currency earner is
tourism; Angkor Wat is one of the country's international tourist
attractions. After several years of rapid growth, the tourism sector
slowed in 2002-03, mainly due to severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS)-related fears. The service sector is heavily concentrated in
trading activities and catering-related services.

Cambodia's real GDP grew at 5.5% in 2002
and an estimated 5.0% in 2003, with almost all of the growth coming
from the garment sector. Inflation moderated from 3% in 2002 to an
estimated average of 1.3% over 2003. The national currency, the riel,
was relatively stable over 2002 but depreciated slightly against the
U.S. dollar in 2003. The economy is heavily dollarized; the dollar and
riel can be used interchangeably. Cambodia remains heavily reliant on
foreign assistance--in 2001, 58% of the central government budget
depended on donor assistance. Cambodia has had trouble attracting
foreign direct investment (FDI), due in part to the unreliable legal
environment. New FDI levels fell steadily from 1999-2001. According to
the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), which tracks actual monies spent
as FDI rather than simply the value of approved FDI projects, in 2001
there was $150 million in FDI. In 2002, the NBC recorded $54 million in
FDI. In 2003, FDI was also likely under $100 million. The economy also
has a poor track record in creating jobs in the formal sector, and the
challenge will only become more daunting in the future since 60% of the
population is under 20 years of age and large numbers of job seekers
will begin to enter the work force each year over the next 10 years.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Cambodia
has established diplomatic relations with most countries, including the
United States. The country is a member of most major international
organizations, including the UN and its specialized agencies, and
became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
in 1998.

Cambodia is a member of the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development
Bank (ADB). On October 13, 2004, Cambodia became the 148th member
of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

U.S.-CAMBODIAN RELATIONS
Between
1955 and 1963, the United States provided $409.6 million in economic
grant aid and $83.7 million in military assistance. This aid was used
primarily to repair damage caused by Cambodia’s war of independence
from France, to support internal security forces, and for the
construction of an all-weather road to the seaport of Sihanoukville,
which gave Cambodia its first direct access to the sea and access to
the southwestern hinterlands. Relations deteriorated in the early
1960s. Diplomatic relations were broken by Cambodia in May 1965, but
were reestablished on July 2, 1969. U.S. relations continued after the
establishment of the Khmer Republic until the U.S. mission was
evacuated on April 12, 1975. During the 1970-75 war, the United States
provided $1.18 billion in military assistance and $503 million in
economic assistance. The United States condemned the brutal character
of the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. The United States
opposed the subsequent military occupation of Cambodia by Vietnam, and
supported ASEAN's efforts in the 1980s to achieve a comprehensive
political settlement of the problem. This was accomplished on October
23, 1991, when the Paris Conference reconvened to sign a comprehensive
settlement.

The U.S. Mission in Phnom
Penh opened on November 11, 1991, headed by career diplomat Charles H.
Twining, Jr., who was designated U.S. Special Representative to the
SNC. On January 3, 1992, the U.S. lifted its embargo against Cambodia,
thus normalizing economic relations with the country. The United States
also ended blanket opposition to lending to Cambodia by international
financial institutions. When the freely elected Royal Government of
Cambodia was formed on September 24, 1993, the United States and the
Kingdom of Cambodia immediately established full diplomatic relations.
The U.S. Mission was upgraded to a U.S. Embassy, and in May 1994 Mr.
Twining became the U.S. Ambassador. After the factional fighting in
1997 and Hun Sen's legal machinations to depose First Prime Minister
Ranariddh, the United States suspended bilateral assistance to the
Cambodian Government. At the same time, many U.S. citizens and other
expatriates were evacuated from Cambodia and, in the subsequent weeks
and months, more than 40,000 Cambodian refugees fled to Thailand. The
1997 events also left a long list of uninvestigated human rights
abuses, including dozens of extra-judicial killings. Since 1997, U.S.
assistance to the Cambodian people has been provided mainly through
non-governmental organizations, which flourish in Cambodia.

The United States supports
efforts in Cambodia to combat terrorism, build democratic institutions,
promote human rights, foster economic development, eliminate
corruption, achieve the fullest possible accounting for Americans
missing from Indochina conflict, and to bring to justice those most
responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law
committed under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Charles A. Ray
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mark C. Storella
Political Officer--Donald B. Coleman
Economic/Commercial Officer--Michael R. Keller
Consular Officer--Terrence E. West
Management Officer--Jennifer A. McIntyre
Public Affairs Officer--Heide M. Bronke
Regional Security Officer--John P. Davis
Defense Attache--Col. Steven L. Rundle

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh is located at 27 EO Street 240; tel: (855) 23-216-436; fax: (855) 23-216-811.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The
U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political
disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements

are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about
terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas
that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free
copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of
Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system:
202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are
available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov.
Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication series, which contain
information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are
on the Internet and hard copies can be purchased from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.

Emergency information concerning
Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas
Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies,
Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000.

The National Passport Information Center
(NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public
contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT
(1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators for
TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern
Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health
information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web
site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or
requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions
and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International
Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.

Information on travel conditions, visa
requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and
other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your
departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for
this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this
publication).

U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register their travel via the State Department’s travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov

or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a
country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of their
passports. This may help family members contact you in case of an
emergency.


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