The premier made the remarks during a meeting with Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, the Prime Minister's spokesman Eang Sophallet told reporters after the meeting.
"The UNESCO should not be reluctant to repair Preah Vihear temple because it is the issue of culture and heritage, not the issue relevant to sovereignty or land dispute," Eang Sophallet quoted the premier as saying to Bokova.
Bokova said she has closely monitored the issue of Preah Vihear temple and expressed regret to see the dispute between Cambodia and Thailand when Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was listed on the World Heritage List in July 2008.
She said the inscription of Preah Vihear temple onto the list was to promote the outstanding universal value of heritage of humanity, not expect to see any conflict.
She said the UNESCO has sent experts to inspect the damage of the temple and has already reserved budget to renovate it.
Bokova also pledged good cooperation with Cambodian officials to protect and conserve the temple.
The Hague-based International Court of Justice awarded Cambodia the Preah Vihear temple, and its vicinity on June 15, 1962, but Thailand, in 2008, claimed the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers of scrub next to the temple.
Sporadic armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops had occurred since July 2008 when the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site and deadly clashes burst out in large scales in February and April 2011 during the rule of former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Cambodia announced in 2011 that during those armed clashes, about 414 mortar and artillery shells had fallen on the temple and caused serious damage to the temple.
The country brought the case of the disputed land of 4.6 square kilometers next to the temple to the ICJ in April 2011 and the court is expected to issue a decision whether Cambodia or Thailand will own the disputed land by the end of this year.
"Whatever the decision of the ICJ will be, the Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Thai government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will abide by the court's decision, and we will continue maintaining friendship, cooperation and serenity along the border," Cambodian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong said during a meeting with Irina Bokova on Monday morning.
The 11th century Preah Vihear temple is located on the top of a 525-meter cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, about 500 kilometers northwest of Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
The temple greeted some 99,490 domestic and foreign tourists in 2012, up 79 percent year-on-year, according to a report of the Ministry of Tourism.
Editor:
Wang Yuanyuan
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