The Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) held its annual Liaison Council under the presidency of His Excellency the Minister of Health, Professor MAM Bunheng and in presence of Professor Stewart Cole, President of Institut Pasteur (Paris), on May 24^th. On this occasion Professor André Spiegel, Director of IPC exposed the results and achievements of the institute in 2021. Thanks to the lift of restriction in regards with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Liaison Council took place in person in the meeting room of the Institute.

The Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, created in December 1953 is a non-profit research institution operating under the high patronage of the Cambodian Ministry of Health (MoH).  The Institute also falls under the purview of Institut Pasteur in Paris, France as concerns its scientific and technical approaches and plans. Its statutes and operational systems are codified in the agreement signed between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Institut Pasteur in Paris signed in 1992 and since modified through two amendments.

On May 24^th, IPC held his annual Liaison Council under the presidency of His Excellency the Minister of Health, Professor MAM Bunheng, and had the pleasure to welcome Professor Stewart Cole who honored us of his visit to attend this meeting.

Permanent members of the Liaison Council are representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Her Excellency the French Ambassador, the rector of the University of Health Sciences, the vice-rector for international relations of the Royal University of Agriculture, the President of Institut Pasteur, representatives of World Health Organization (WHO) and of UNICEF.

Invited members are, the Ambassador of Australian Embassy in Cambodia, the Director of Calmette Hospital, the Director of Kantha Bopha Foundation, other Cambodian health institutions and Universities (RUPP, ITC, UP, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD-French Development Agency) and of several international partners.

Prof. André Spiegel, Director of Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Dr Ly Sowath, Deputy Director of IPC, and M. Christophe Mousset, Administration and Finance Director exposed the results and achievements in research, services to the public, training and teaching.

This year 2021 was marked by the COVID19 epidemic which took place in Cambodia. Scientific activities have been particularly important in this field, in particular with very strong support from the response organized by the MOH (more than 600,000 RT-PCR tests carried out and nearly 2,000 virus sequencing to identify the variants). Research activities have been able to continue and significant results have been obtained in various

fields which have been the subject of 49 scientific publications in high-level international journals.

The IPC is also still enhancing its wide range of services to the public through the medical biology laboratory, the international vaccine center, the anti-rabies treatment centers in Phnom Penh (more than 40,000 patients treated), Battambang and Kampong Cham, and the laboratory of environment and food safety.

Date of Publication: Under Embargo until May 24^h 2022 (5:00 pm, Cambodian time)

Contacts:  Ms. Marea PHEAP, 017 666 441, [email protected] (Khmer & English)

                  Mr. Jérome JAYMOND, 078 555 849, [email protected] (English & French)