PHNOM PENH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Wednesday left here for the French capital Paris to attend the 41st General Conference of UNESCO on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, which will be held on Nov. 10-14.
In a royal message to the Cambodian people, Sihamoni, 68, said he will be absent from the kingdom from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15 and during his absence, Senate President Samdech Say Chhum will be the acting head of state.
Sihamoni was seen off by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and other high-profile figures at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
The king will deliver a speech at the official opening ceremony of the General Conference on Friday, which centers on the crucial achievements of UNESCO in Cambodia, the foreign ministry said in a press release.
"Since its establishment in 1945, UNESCO has significantly contributed, through its programs of multilateral cooperation, to the promotion of education, science, culture and communication in the world," the ministry said.
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has played an important role in the conservation and protection of Cambodia's cultural properties.
To date, the Southeast Asian nation has three tangible cultural properties and five intangible cultural heritages inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The listed tangible cultural properties include the Angkor Archeological Park, Preah Vihear Temple, and Sambor Prei Kuk Archeological Site.
On the list of the intangible cultural heritages are the Royal Ballet, Sbek Thom or Khmer Shadow Puppetry, tug-of-war game, Chapei Dang Veng, which is a long-necked, two-stringed lute, and Lkhon Khol, a masked dance-theater.
