Culture Minister & Thai Ambassador Discuss ‘Angkor Copy’ Scandal

Phnom Penh: On the morning of August 4, 2021, at the office of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, HE Dr. Phoeung Sakona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, met with HE Panyarak Poolthup, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Cambodia. The talks focused on cooperation between the two countries.

The discussion also mentioned the case of the project to build a stone temple in Borei Ram province, which social media and the media reported was a copy of the architecture of Angkor Wat. The news was met with outrage from both countries.

In this regard, the Minister requested the Thai side to cooperate in providing specific information and official documents on the project of the construction of the stone temple in Borei Ram province, so that the Cambodian side has a basis to review the decision to avoid any negative effects that may occur and affect the relationship between the two countries.

The Thai Ambassador accepted the request and promised to respond in a spirit of deep cooperation. At the same time, as the Chairperson of the UNESCO National Commission for Cambodia, she also joined in congratulating Thailand on the inclusion of Kaeng Krachan Forest in the UNESCO World Heritage List. SOURCE