Aid and development

Japan has granted about $28 million in aid for the construction of teacher education colleges in the kingdom. The signing ceremony took place yesterday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. ...

Rapid urbanisation in Phnom Penh in the past decade has created jobs and reduced poverty, but better urban planning, management and infrastructure are needed to avoid further sprawl, congestion and pollution, according to a new World Bank report released yesterday. ...

As Cambodia continues its impressive economic development and reaches higher stages of industrialisation and social well-being, there is an urgent need to prepare for future cutbacks in international development assistance, the Commerce Minister said on Friday. ...

A European Parliament resolution last week calling for the possible suspension of Cambodia’s preferential trade status prompted a strong reaction from Prime Minister Hun Sen, who yesterday sternly dared the bloc to “cut it!” Speaking to garment factory workers on Koh Pich yesterday, the premier said Cambodia would ...

The EU’s decision came in response to the government’s crackdown on the Kingdom’s largest opposition party – the Cambodia National Rescue Party – which was summarily dissolved last month, a development that the EU said rendered credible elections impossible. But in a speech to garment workers ...

The National Election Committee’s newly minted press reaction team responded late on Wednesday to the European Union’s decision to cut funding for the 2018 election, claiming it was unfair to judge the elections before they took place. ...

The United States has provided $350,000 to the World Monuments Fund for the fifth phase of the conservation of Phnom Bakheng temple in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Archaeological Park. ...

The European Union announced yesterday that it is suspending all support for Cambodia’s National Election Committee, calling credible elections impossible in light of the government’s dissolution of the ruling party’s only legitimate competitor. ...

Cambodia may have reduced its levels of extreme poverty to the single-digits, but its middle class is nearly nonexistent and approximately half of its population remains highly susceptible to economic shocks, according to a World Bank report released yesterday. ...

Japan has provided more than $300,000 to aid the government in its construction of a road and three hospitals in four provinces. The $329,736 grant was signed at the Japanese embassy yesterday by the Japanese ambassador, the director of the Preah Vihear provincial department of public ...

Sweden said yesterday it was stopping new aid for Cambodia, except in education and research, and would no longer support a reform programme after the CNRP was dissolved last week. ...

The Chinese Embassy donated equipment to the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA) yesterday, marking the beginning of a new pledge to become a top donor to the sector, following the withdrawal of US funds.​ ...

The United States announced on Friday it was ending funding for the election, and promised more “concrete steps”, after the Supreme Court dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) at the request of the government, on the grounds it was plotting to seize power. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday brushed aside any potential concern over the US cutting funding to the country over the recent dissolution of the opposition CNRP prior to next year’s general election. ...

Russia will send observers to the Kingdom for the upcoming national elections and has pledged to sit down to discuss Cambodia’s outstanding debt, a move that analysts yesterday saw as a sign of solidarity between two governments increasingly out of favour with the West. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering plans to revamp the airport in Stung Treng province to increase air connectivity in the Great Mekong Subregion (GMS). ...

The United States has cut funding next year for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre following months of criticism from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government of America’s war legacy in the Kingdom. ...

The government plans to borrow an additional 1 billion through Special Drawing Rights (SDR), or $1.4 billion, to meet its planned budget for next year, bringing the total national debt to $7.6 billion by the end of 2018 compared to the current level of $6.2 ...

The Japanese government on Friday granted $3.2 million to Cambodia through the World Food Programme to provide meals to students in vulnerable communities. ...

Japan has pledged to continue providing aid to Cambodia, including support to prepare for the general election next year. Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn yesterday met with Iwao Horii, the Japanese vice-minister of foreign affairs. ...

A senior Defence Ministry official said yesterday that the United States had provided financial assistance to its own organisations and to NGOs to carry out anti-Cambodian government activities. ...

Construction of the first seaport for tourist vessels in Kampot is due to start by the end of the year. The groundbreaking ceremony for the port project was previously scheduled for September, but was delayed. ...

In order to aid the inclusive and sustainable development of the country, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will continue to support Cambodia in improving disaster preparedness through strengthening its disaster management capabilities. ...

Despite better than predicted overall growth for global economies, the World Bank has slightly downgraded its 2017 forecast for Cambodia due to wage and price concerns in the Kingdom’s the garment industry as well as uncertainty surrounding next year’s national election. ...