Canada to close embassy in Phnom Penh

Canada to close embassy in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian Embassy in Phnom Penh will close its doors in May after 17 years' operation, said an embassy statement received here on Thursday.
The Canadian government "has decided to change the nature of its diplomatic representation in Cambodia.... Our intention is that a Canadian Ambassador in a nearby country will be accredited to Cambodia," according to the statement.

The decision to close the embassy came after "serious re-examination of Canada's current diplomatic representation throughout the world," it said.

Although the Phnom Penh embassy is closing, new Canadian government offices will be opened, "mainly to take advantage of emerging markets," it said, adding that three of these have already been opened, with two in India and one in Mongolia.

Until now, the Canadian Embassy has occupied a small corner of the Australian Embassy on Street 254 of the capital city.

The Australian diplomats will move into new quarters later this year, and no space there has been allocated for their Canadian counterparts.