PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, September 8, 2015 (Khmer Times): Addressing a sore point in bilateral relations, Hor Namhong, a Deputy Prime Minister, asked Ambassador Naveen Srivastava to stop work on an Angkor Wat Temple replica, planned by Mahavir Mandir, a Hindu trust based in the eastern Indian state of Bikar.
“Angkor Wat Temple is the heart of Cambodia, and the Indian government stated that this construction won’t break the good relationship between both countries, and they promise to stop the company which plans to build it,” Mr. Sounry said. Construction reportedly was suspended after Cambodia sent a diplomatic protest note to India in June.
“The Ambassador told the Deputy Prime Minister that the government of India advised the private company to change the style and structure [in the blueprint] in order to avoid copying from Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple,” the spokesman told reporters after the meeting, according to Xinhua.