International cooperation vital to save Angkor Wat

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - International cooperation is crucial to safeguard and develop the temples of Angkor, says a spokesman for the national agency that manages the UNESCO World Heritage site in northwestern Cambodia.

A year after the UNESCO designation in 1992, an International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor, or ICCAngkor, was established to coordinate all foreign assistance for preserving Angkor Wat and the many other temples and ruins of the Khmer capital that flourished from the 9th to 15th centuries.

"It has always been in the form of multilateral cooperation in the sense of decision-making process and bilateral at the implementation stage," said Long Kosal, spokesman for Apsara National Authority, the management authority responsible for protecting and preserving the sprawling Angkor Archeological Park.