New York Office

Home

UNITAR Roundtables

Speaker: H.E. Pou Sothirak

Cambodian Ambassador to Japan

“The Post-Conflict Experiences of Cambodia and its Challenges and Opportunities for the Future”

Date: 26 January 2006

H.E. Pou Sothirak obtained a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University in 1981 and worked with the Boeing Company in Seattle from 1981 to 1985. He then joined the struggle to liberate Cambodia from foreign occupation and internal conflict and was humanitarian coordinator in one of the non-communist controlled refugee camps where over 60,000 displaced Cambodians resided along the Thai-Cambodian border. He was also involved with the education and community development programs for the reintegration of refugees following the 1991 International Conference on Cambodia. Ambassador Pou was elected twice as Member of Parliament during the general elections in 1993 and 2003. He was also appointed as Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy from 1993 to 1998. He took up his position as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Japan in April 2005.

Roundtable Topic

Since the Khmer Rouge era, Cambodia has been undergoing triple transitions, moving from a command economy to a free market system, from war to peace, and from authoritarian rule to gradual democracy. Since the early 1990s, democratization and globalization have become the two essential challenges to the development of Cambodia. After two decades of war, the first democratic-style election took place in May 1993 under the auspices of the United Nations. Cambodia is now trying to re-establish itself as a democratic country with fundamental human rights, social justice, and the rule of laws. To support its political aims, a process of free market-oriented policy is being strengthened and in recent years Cambodia has been active in regionalism and multilateralism, not only in Southeast Asia but also in East Asia. The question of the linkage between economic growth and poverty reduction has become a central point of policy debates in Cambodia. Whether the country can reap the benefits from regional integration remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Cambodia has a formidable opportunity to prepare itself for the critical reforms that will hopefully ensure broad-based development.

2003-06 United Nations Institute for Training and Research. All Rights Reserved.