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Objects held in provincial museums, such as the one in Takeo, will be entered into a database as part of the Object Inventory Project.
U.S. Continues Support for Cultural Preservation in Cambodia
Takeo Provincial Museum
November 15, 2007
During a ceremony at the new Takeo Provincial Museum, U.S. Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli and H.E. Veng Sereyvuth, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, signed grant agreements providing more than $74,000 in U.S. government funding for two cultural preservation projects to be conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. First, the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation is providing more than $44,000 in funding to allow the completion of restoration work at Prasat Han Chey, which was begun last year with U.S. assistance. Second, the U.S. State Department's Cultural Heritage Center is providing nearly $30,000 to assist the Ministry in securing collections of uninventoried archaeological artifacts by entering them in a newly created national inventory database.
In his remarks, Ambassador Mussomeli stated, "The importance of the past is sometimes forgotten in the rush of everyday life. But the past is crucial to our future. Without knowledge of the past and respect for our history, we are rootless and lost. The past ought to be an inspiration and a source of creativity for those who live today."
During the ceremony, H.E. Veng Sereyvuth said, "The full attention of the United States Government of America on the conservation and preservation of the Cambodian cultural heritage has indirectly pushed the Cambodian government, particularly the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, to realize that we need to make more efforts in the protection and preservation of its own invaluable cultural heritage for the future generations." He continued, "I would like to take this precious time to express my heartfelt thanks to the people and government of the United States of America for supporting the conservation and preservation of Cambodian cultural heritage projects."
The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation provides an opportunity for U.S. Embassies to directly demonstrate America’s respect for the cultural heritage of host countries and to play an active role in protecting those heritages. The Fund was created by the U.S. Congress in 2001 in order to assist less developed countries in preserving museum collections, ancient and historic sites, and traditional forms of expression. In 2007 the Ambassador's Fund will support 57 cultural preservation projects in 54 countries.
The U.S. is committed to the protection of Cambodia’s heritage, and these two grants represent just one aspect of assistance to Cambodia in this endeavor. Over the last several years, the U.S. government has provided more than $866,000 to fund cultural preservation projects in Cambodia. Additionally, in 2003 the U.S. and Cambodia signed a bilateral agreement that imposes import restrictions on Khmer archaeological material entering the United States. This agreement made it possible for the U.S. government to repatriate to Cambodia earlier this year a looted Khmer antiquity smuggled into the United States, with several more such repatriations expected in the near future. The agreement comes up for renewal in 2008, and the U.S. Embassy is already working with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts to ensure this happens.
