(Phnom Penh)
On Thursday, 23rd June 2022, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) through His Excellency Chhieng Yanara, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board of CDC, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through Dr. Guenter Riethmacher, Country Director of GIZ, and Dr. Stefan Hanselmann, Head of Project, signed an Implementation Agreement concerning the project “Improved Competitiveness of National Enterprises in Cambodia-ICONE 2022-2025” under the financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany.
The ICONE will continue to use the existing institutional structure of RED-IV, the National Steering Committee, which is represented by CDC and a number of relevant ministries and institutions and provincial working groups. This project will focus on 3 key components including: (1) Strengthening the capacity of provincial administration to carry out economic promotion, (2) Improving the range of services for strengthening the competitiveness of enterprises, and (3) Strengthening the capacity of Cambodian enterprises to use technology and digital solutions to improve their competitiveness. Both sides strongly hope that the ICONE will be implemented successfully and effectively in line with the project's objective of promoting competitiveness and economic modernization, strengthening export capacity, and expanding market dynamically in Cambodia, which contributed to the implementation of the Cambodia Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025.
Meanwhile, the ICONE project continues to be supported by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany with a budget of EUR 8 million (around USD 9 million) and the RGC’s contribution of 10% (in-kind and cash) of the project’s budget; this project covers a 3-year period from April 2022 to March 2025 and is planned to implement in 3 provinces, namely Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap. From 1992 to 2021, the Federal Republic of Germany provided around USD 720.5 million to Cambodia to support 3 priority sectors, including: 1). Rural development sector, 2). Social protection and health sector, and 3). Governance.