(Phnom Penh)
On Tuesday afternoon, October 19, 2021, at the Council for the Development of Cambodia, His Excellency Chhieng Yanara, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CRDB/CDC) held a courtesy call with His Excellency Christian Berger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of Cambodia via video conference. The main purposes of this courtesy were to introduce the newly appointed Head and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation of the German Embassy, discuss the priorities of bilateral development cooperation as well as exchange views on related aspects.
H.E. Minister Chhieng Yanara warmly welcomed H.E. Ambassador and congratulated Mr. Jost Kadel and Dr. Angelika Stauder for being appointed by the German government to fulfill their mission in Cambodia. H.E. Minister, on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), highly valued the achievements made by the German government in supporting both technical and financial in three priorities areas (rural development, health and social protection, and governance and cross-cutting sector) which have been significantly contributed to Cambodia socio-economic development, particularly the grant commitment of USD 17 million in supporting Cambodia’s COVID-19 response and economic recovery. Meanwhile, H.E. Minister also informed H.E. Ambassador and colleagues that the RGC has launched the National Strategic Plan Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19 and necessary response measures, which aimed to build herd immunity socio-economic to gradually reopen the country by adapting to the new normal in the context of COVID-19.
H.E. Ambassador highly praised the RGC for its efforts and achievements in Cambodia’s development. H.E. Ambassador also introduced his two new colleagues who begin the mission in Cambodia from now on. Mr. Jost Kadel, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Development Cooperation, and Dr. Angelika Stauder, First Secretary and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation of the German Embassy in Cambodia, expressed their pleasure to begin the mission in Cambodia and highly valued and committed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and partnership. H.E. Ambassador and colleagues also informed H.E. Minister about a study on socio-economic effects of COVID-19 in the microfinance sector in Cambodia conducted by the German research team at the end of 2021 and the preparation for the Bilateral Consultation on Development Cooperation, which is scheduled to be held in the second quarter of 2022. In addition, both sides also discussed and exchanged views on several aspects including the impacts of COVID-19 on economic structure, water flow management along the Mekong river, climate change, and the contribution of the private sector in development.
Before ending the courtesy call, both sides expressed firm commitment to further strengthen and expand bilateral development cooperation and partnerships in contributing to sustainable and inclusive development of Cambodia. In this occasion, H.E. Chhieng Yanara, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of CRDB/CDC, expressed his sincere appreciations and wished H.E. Christian Berger, Mr. Jost Kadel, and Dr. Angelika Stauder, succeed in their diplomatic mission in Cambodia.