PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, March 26 (UPI) -- Michelle Obama's tour of Asia to promote girls' education was marked by blunt criticism from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said the first lady was "playing around" and using hopeful rhetoric about making improvements but not guaranteeing aid.
The Phnom Penh Post reported that Hun Sen told U.S. embassy personnel and USAID workers Wednesday that Obama's Saturday visit with 10 schoolgirls in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, part of the White House's "Let Girls Learn" initiative, was good but not enough. He said the U.S. government should promise scholarships – if it sincerely seeks improvements to education reform in Cambodia.