For Immediate Release
June 29, 2023
2023
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy and Embassy staff welcomed over 600 guests—including officials, diplomats, partners, and friends— to the Sofitel Phnom Penh Hotel on June 29 to celebrate the 247th Independence Day of the United States of America.
Ambassador Murphy’s remarks highlighted the United States’ founding principles and democratic traditions – enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution – and the enduring friendship between the American and the Cambodian people.
“Our Declaration of Independence in 1776 established a new nation with a government accountable to its citizens. The American experiment remains a work in progress, but our instruments of democracy strive to uphold the self-evident truth that all people are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights,” said Ambassador Murphy.
H.E. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, represented the Royal Government of Cambodia at the event as Guest of Honor.
The theme of the U.S. Embassy’s Fourth of July celebration – “For the Love of the Game” – paid tribute to the cultural importance of sports in the United States and Cambodia in promoting understanding, respect, and friendship. The event featured a basketball contest, American football display, and a soccer demonstration with Cambodian American professional soccer player Nick Taylor.
The Independence Day event included many U.S. company-sponsors, as well as live music from Flame – a high-energy American band from Lexington, New York that performs globally. Flame’s musicians have disabilities such as autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, and paralysis. Their mission is to inspire people with disabilities and help increase awareness and acceptance of all people, regardless of their differences.
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