[Provisional Translation]

Your Excellency Mr. Im Chhun Lim, Senior Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction,
Your Excellency Dr. Mam Bunheng, Minister of Health,
Dr. Shigemi Kitahara, Chair of the Board of Directors of Kitahara Neurosurgical Institute,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon to all of you. I am Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan.

Today, it was decided that Japan will construct one of its strengths, a critical care hospital, for the first time overseas, here in Phnom Penh. This project has come to fruition as a national undertaking, with a hospital and an engineering firm, both of the highest caliber in Japan, working with the Japanese government in a united manner. I explained this undertaking to Prime Minister Hun Sen just a little while ago. He was extremely pleased, and we reached an agreement to cooperate in the construction and operation of this hospital. I believe that this hospital will become a symbol of the cooperation between Japan and Cambodia.

Through its Japanese-style medical services, this hospital will serve as a base for providing support not only in emergency situations such as traffic accidents, strokes, and heart attacks but also for day-to-day medical care needs. In addition, making Japan's highly developed medical treatment a reality within Cambodia will help to develop Cambodia's medical care and enable the Cambodian people to protect their health without going abroad. Moreover, this undertaking will convey Japan's medical treatment to Cambodia and cultivate human resources.

Japan will be engaged in building this bridge between Japan and Cambodia through the integrated efforts of the government, the medical community, and industry. I hope wholeheartedly that the people of Cambodia also cooperate in building and operating this hospital.

I would like to conclude my remarks by stating my expectations that today's seminar will deepen mutual understanding in the medical sector while further developing concrete cooperation, including the training of human resources in the field of medicine. Thank you very much.