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(1) Oknha – titles bestowed by HM the King and recognized by society
[…] Oknha is (a title given to) two types of people. The first group is those who have succeeded through their own struggles […] there are two generations – the first generation is those who came out (of the genocide) with bare hands and the second generation are children/grandchildren who are taking over businesses, inherited from their parents […] and the second group is those who are successful in business life and give/share their success to society […] and participate in humanitarian works […] the title of Oknha is an honor bestowed by HM the King and recognized by society. Therefore, the recipient of the title must have responsibilities that come with it […]
(2) State and private sector to preserve the reputation of the title of Oknha
(We all have noted that) in 2024 and 2025, all sectors of the economy are making a rise again. In 2021 and 2020, some sectors were in the negative zone. Even though our economy is booming and growing again, we still need to be cautious. On this note, the government continues to hold regular meetings and continuously issue policies (to help with the private sector difficult passing through) […] I thank the private sector, especially the Oknhas, members of the Oknha Association […] who have contributed to the growth.
Since the title of Oknha, as you know, is an honor bestowed by the King and recognized by society, it means that the recipient of the title must have certain expected responsibility. Previously, you might be just businessmen […] now, holding the title of Oknha, you represent more than 1,000 others nationwide. This is an honor and a duty […] and in this regard, the state and the private sector work together to preserve the reputation of those who have the title of Oknha, as well as to preserve the original concept of providing recognition (of the value of fame/title) […]
(3) 140 removed from the list of 1,647 Oknhas for different reasons
According to the data, there have been 1,647 Oknhas, of which 140 were removed from the list, among whom, 126 were deleted due to inequality (between the Oknha title and their other active ranks). There has been a principle that those who are holding the rank of generals in the army and police, would be asked to choose only one – either the General or the Oknha […] Also removed from the list were some who did it voluntarily, and some for having committed crimes […] Therefore, there is a request to update the list […] since we now have a mechanism to do so and tasks to carry through. All these are done not for oppressive control, but to jointly maintain the approach as well as solidarity as a nation between the private sector and the state […]
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(4) Economic diplomacy to promote private sector in country and in foreign relations
[…] The Royal Government has put in place an economic diplomacy policy to promote the strengthening of the private sector, not only in the country but also in foreign relations […] This year, we have done a lot of work both abroad and at home. In this regard, I thank the Chamber of Commerce for collaborating with organizing partners, with the participation of the Cambodian Oknha Association, in connecting with the private sector […] The government works to set up a bridge, open the border, put forward incentive policies, initiate policies, while the private sector is working to chooses partners with foreign investors […] and corresponds with the private sector in various countries, including matching companies for investment […]
(5) Promoting Cambodia as a favorable investment destination
The private sector is also an important partner. To invest in another country, investors are looking for local partners to ensure confidence […] in 2024, according to the data, CDC (The Council of the Development of Cambodian), approved 414 projects, with a total investment of more than six billion (USD) […] based on this data, 2024 was the year with the most (investment) ever. More than 400 projects in a year is record-breaking. What does this reflect? It reflects that what we are trying to do together is moving forward […]
Hopefully, in 2025, we will (have) more. The Royal Government continues to work hard. We send out teams […] to promote more about Cambodia (as a favorable investment destination) […] We must continue to do so to attract investment, facilitate more investment, because investment will ensure the goals of the Royal Government to promote economic growth, create jobs, and improve the living standards of citizens […] it is the economy that ensures the stability of the people’s hearts […] in every country, the living standards of the people are the main basis […]
(6) Advisory team with members from private sector to be organized
We are considering a step towards organizing an advisory team, (the members of which are) from the private sector to provide advice on the investment work. We have inputs from the relevant ministries and/or institutions with expertise to consult with the private sector, with partners, and with experts on certain policies, […] it’s not that we don’t accept what the their inputs/advises, but at the same time, we want those who are directly involved (in the actual implementing stage) to help provide their insights and advice, monitor, and provide additional components in this task […] sometimes, by solving just one issue is already a good thing because that one issue could be the key that make other issues solve by themselves […] Let us see it as taking the tips of those who have done it before or use the tricks of businessmen to solve the problem […]
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(7) Ready to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia by all means
We do not abandon the topic of peace […] looking at the history, we had internal rifts and attacks with neighboring countries since before the fall of Angkor […] it had been thousands of years from the peacefulness we have at present […] It took us 27 years to end the war with the win-win policy. In those 27 years, we had a four-year war, between 2008-2011, on the border with a neighboring country […] Having seen that some self-proclaimed patriots are shouting from abroad on the border issues […]
(I just wanted to say in short that) national defense, protecting the territory, is a matter of concern for all […] The Royal Government does not ignore it […] On March 8 and 9, there were this Thai extremists trying to get to the Ta Moan Thom temple to sing (their patriotic song) there […] the Thai soldiers stopped them […] (as of this stage,) that is their internal politics. If they, however, violate using the armed forces methods, we are ready to defend ourselves with all means – using armed forces again included – to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia […]
(8) Border protection is not about building strong trenches, but economic development along the border
The Royal Government of Cambodia does not want a war to break out […] and is adhering to peaceful settlement, on the basis of international law, negotiation and diplomacy, and be ready at all times (to respond) in case of an invasion by armed force […] Cambodia reserves the right to defend its sovereignty, using all means, including armed force […] We love our country, but we are not doing the wrong thing that will end up harming the national interests. Anyone who would be doing that would not be a smart person […]
Border protection is not about building up an army or building strong trenches, but about development so that people can live along the border, build an economy along the border, open more border economic ports, international ports, bilateral ports, and regional ports so that people and businesses can trade with neighboring countries […] Our team has legal documents to negotiate with neighboring countries. I ask for our people’s trust in this work because they are responsible to the government. We all do not want anyone placed in the border negotiation responsibility to lose our territory. We are very determined […]./.
