CPP and Funcinpec officials on Friday said they agreed to adopt more than two-thirds of the points they proposed for a new government policy platform, though several key demands from Funcinpec remain on the negotiating table.
After nearly three hours of talks Friday morning, officials said they had agreed on 50 of the 73 points initially proposed, though they did not say what those points were.
But, they said, the CPP has yet to officially accept a number of Funcinpec proposals, including the creation of a Ministry of Immigration, a national human rights committee and new legislation on opposition parties.
“We will still work this out until we find a middle point on which we can compromise,” CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters after the meeting.
Khieu Kanharith said the agreements made so far are subject to approval by the new National Assembly, while the unresolved issues will be set aside for Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss.
The two parties are still in the first phase of talks to form a new coalition government. After agreeing on a policy platform, they will discuss the more contentious topics of government and Assembly protocol and power sharing.
CPP and Funcinpec officials are scheduled to meet again April 28, after Hun Sen returns from a diplomatic trip to China. Hun Sen will leave today and return
April 25.
Asked whether Hun Sen will meet with King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing, Khieu Kanharith said “no comment.”
The King Sihanouk, who is in Pyongyang, North Korea, said he would return to Beijing before returning to Cambodia, though he has not disclosed his travel dates.
Kassie Neou also declined to comment on when Prince Ranarridh will return. The prince left Phnom Penh last month and reportedly was in France.
