(Phnom Penh)
On Monday morning, 17th October 2022 at the Palais du Gouvernment, 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), and Mr. Udo Weber, Senior Policy Advisor, Southeast Asia Division, and Head of Delegation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), jointly led the Sectoral Dialogue on Sustainable Economic Development between the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the Government of Federal Republic of Germany. This Sectoral Dialogue was attended by approximately 20 participants including His Excellency Rith Vuthy, Deputy Secretary General of the CRDB, and Dr. Angelika 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 the CDC’s officials. The main purposes of today's consultation were to review the progress of bilateral development cooperation in the area of sustainable economic development, particularly on the Improved Competitiveness of National Enterprises Program (ICONE), as well as to identify the priorities for future cooperation towards achieving the inclusive and sustainable economic development in Cambodia.
To begin, H.E. Minister extended a warm welcome to Mr. Udo Weber and 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 Cambodian-German development cooperation that has contributed to the development of Cambodia especially through the ICONE program, which is a project implemented after the successful implementation of the Regional Economic Development Program – Phase 4 (RED-IV). ICONE promotes competitiveness and economic modernization, export capacity, and market expansion in Cambodia, especially contributing to the implementation of the Cambodian Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025.
Mr. Udo Weber, Senior Policy Advisor, Southeast Asia Division and Head of Delegation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), expressed his great pleasure and highly appreciated the progress achieved in Cambodia’s development and cooperation in the four priority areas. He also emphasized the support from the German government for Cambodia’s development through development projects focusing on sustainable economic development in Cambodia through ICONE.
At the same time, 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 modernization by strengthening the productivity, efficiency and innovation potential of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In the second phase, the program will also strengthen TVET by incorporating the technology utilization 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.
It is also worth noting that, as agreed by both parties, the Political Dialogue on Development Cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany will be held on the October 19-20, 2022 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.