(Phnom Penh)

On the morning of Thursday, December 12, 2024, at the Council for the Development of Cambodia, His Excellency Chhiang Yanara, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Missions and Second Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), and Ms. Jung Eunyoung, Deputy Director General of the Development Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK), co-chaired of 5th Cambodia-Korea Integrated ODA Policy Dialogue. The meeting was attended by her/his excellency secretary of state, her/his excellency deputy secretary of state, senior representatives of relevant ministries/institutions of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of ROK, representatives of the Export-Import Bank of ROK, representatives of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and representatives of the Korean Embassy in Cambodia, totaling approximately 92 people.

The meeting is an important forum to strengthen further and expand development cooperation and partnership between both countries. 

At the beginning, His Excellency Senior Minister expressed his pleasure and warm welcome to the presence of the Korean delegation and expressed his deep gratitude to the Government of ROK and Korean for their continued commitment to supporting the socio-economic development of Cambodia. The meeting was organized for the fifth time during the RGC of the Seventh Legislature of the National Assembly and coincided with Cambodia achieving peace, maintaining macroeconomic conditions, and social stability. His Excellency Senior Minister highly appreciated the cooperation of the Government of ROK, which has played an essential role in contributing to the socio-economic development of Cambodia and firmly believed in the consensus of bilateral relationship elevation to a “Strategic Partnership,” which will promote the progress in all sector, especially the commitment of the government of ROK to continue supporting the human capital development, economic diversification and competitiveness enhancement, privatesector and employment development, resilient, sustainable and inclusive development, and digital economic and social development, as stipulated in the Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I of RGC.

In response, Ms. Jung congratulated the new RGC, led by Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Ms. Jung informed the meeting of commitment in strengthening and expanding cooperation with the RGC and preparing cooperation plans in line with the priorities of RGC, especially in the digital sector, information technology, and communications.

Both sides discussed the current status of cooperation and ODA policy that the ROK has been providing to Cambodia, as well as the revision of the Korea’s Cooperation Partnership Strategy for Cambodia. To meet the development renovation, the Korean side committed to further increasing the volume of ODA for Cambodia. Meanwhile, both sides also discussed the development cooperation project candidates for 2025-2026.

Finally, the meeting was conducted successfully, yielding productive outcomes and ended in a cordial atmosphere.