The Political Dialogue on Development Cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany will be held on Oct. 19-20, 2022.
The two-day dialogue is aimed to review the progress of project implementation in all sectors, current and future bilateral cooperation in various aspects, and project proposals submitted to the German side for consideration in the bilateral negotiation in 2023, pointed out a press release of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) issued after the Sectoral Dialogue on Sustainable Economic Development between the two governments held here on Monday under the chairmanship of H.E. Chhieng Yanara, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the CDC’s Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board (CRDB/CDC), and Mr. Udo Weber, Senior Policy Advisor, Southeast Asia Division, and Head of Delegation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
According to the source, the Sectoral Dialogue was attended by approximately 20 participants including H.E. Rith Vuthy, Deputy Secretary General of the CRDB, and Dr. Angenlika Stauder, First Secretary Cooperation of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ Cambodia), the German Development Bank (KFW Cambodia), and CDC’s officials.
H.E. Minister thanked the German Government and people for their continued support and contribution to the development of Cambodia, especially in four priority areas (Health and Social Protection, Inclusive Peace and Society, TVET, and Climate Change) that are aligned with the RGC’s national priorities and German 2030 Agenda.
H.E. Minister also highly valued the Cambodia-German development cooperation that has contributed to the development of Cambodia especially through the Improved Competitiveness of National Enterprises Programme (ICONE), which is a project implemented after the successful implementation of the Regional Economic Development Programme-Phase 4 (RED-IV). ICONE promotes competitiveness and economic modernisation, export capacity, and market expansion in Cambodia, especially contributing to the implementation of the Cambodian Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025.
For his part, Mr. Udo Weber expressed his great pleasure and highly appreciated the progress achieved in Cambodia’s development and cooperation in the four priorities areas. He also emphasised the support from the German government for Cambodia’s Development through development projects focusing on sustainable economic development in Cambodia through ICONE.
Both sides discussed and identified the directions and priorities for the ICONE Phase II. As a result, both sides agreed to focus on inclusive and sustainable economic development, which will further support the private sector, and the Cambodian economy diversification and modernisation by strengthening the productivity, efficiency and innovation potential of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In the second phase, the programme will also strengthen TVET by incorporating the technology utilisation and innovations, as well as enhance the engagement from all relevant stakeholders, especially the private sector, to expand the Cambodian market and economy to progress and prosper in line with regional and global trends.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press