The Cambodia Forum

Cambodia was once in the news for all the wrong reasons: relentless bombing during the Vietnam War, genocide during the Khmer Rouge era, and the ghastly human dislocation, misery and poverty that are the legacies of war and conflict. In recent years, however, Cambodia has emerged as one of ASEAN's stories of hope, a country determined to put its past behind and take its place among the emerging successes of Southeast Asia. To capture the new mood, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore and the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) organized a one-day Cambodia Forum on 23 April 2010 at the Conrad Centennial Singapore to examine the key sectors in Cambodia's developmental thrust. Cambodian leaders, policy-makers and academics looked at the role of governance in creating the thrust; the economic strategy needed to sustain that thrust; the role of investment and business policy; the human resources policy necessary for sustained economic growth; and the role of energy and the environment. Addressing a host of issues under these broad areas, the Forum participants provided an insider's view of how Cambodia could leverage on its strengths to move into a new era. The Keynote Address also analyses the state of bilateral relations between Cambodia and Singapore.