AKP Phnom Penh, March 03, 2026 --

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Acting Head of State of Cambodia, stated that March 3 National Culture Day is a highly significant occasion for the Cambodian people to reflect on the values of the country’s rich arts and culture and its glorious civilisation – remarkable legacies created by Khmer ancestors and passed down to future generations.

In a message posted on social media this morning, Samdech Techo extended his congratulations on the 28th National Culture Day, celebrated under the theme “Youth for National Culture.” He reiterated that March 3 National Culture Day serves as an important reminder for Cambodians to cherish the immense cultural and civilisational heritage left by their ancestors. 

The day also helps inspire Cambodia’s younger generation, as well as the nation as a whole, to develop a strong sense of love, preservation, and protection for ancestral cultural heritage, and to actively promote the values of national culture, civilisation, and traditional customs, in line with the saying: “When culture disappears, the nation fades; when culture flourishes, the nation prospers,” he underlined. 

Samdech Techo emphasised that National Culture Day plays a vital role in encouraging youth and the public to uphold national identity and strengthen unity through the safeguarding and promotion of Cambodia’s cultural and traditional values.

The Royal Government of Cambodia designated March 3 of each year as National Culture Day under a sub-decree dated Jan. 24, 2006.

National Culture Day also serves as a valuable opportunity to foster patriotism and collective responsibility in preserving, protecting, and promoting cultural heritage, arts, customs, traditions, and other ancestral legacies. These cultural assets represent the national identity of all Khmer people and remain an inexhaustible source of contribution to the country’s socio-economic development.

By C. Nika