Aid and development

On Tuesday, the US government awarded Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Cambodia – the nation’s leading provider in the field of mental healthcare and psychosocial support – with an $894,057 grant that will facilitate mental health therapies and healing methods for the country’s many genocide survivors afflicted ...

A proposed Chinese-built highway linking Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville appears to be moving forward, after the chairman of the company behind the project met with Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh yesterday.   ...

The Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge will close for repairs early next year after structural damage was discovered last year, City Hall announced yesterday. City Hall spokesman Mean Chanyada said: “We will close the bridge for 22 months to make repairs starting from early January 2017.” ...

George Edgar, the European Union’s ambassador to Cambodia, met with Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon on Monday to discuss possible European Union (EU) aid to help the Kingdom strengthen its agricultural sector. ...

Cambodia’s Minister of Economy and Finance last week made a request to a visiting senior official from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to speed up loan approvals for least development countries (LDCs) in order to spur infrastructure development. Aun Pormoniroth made the request to AIIB ...

There seems to be no definite period of when a $300 million loan from the Chinese government, to build large silos to store rice for milling, will be disbursed to the Cambodian government. ...

Cambodia’s development “could not be detached” from Chinese aid, Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong said on Monday, joining a chorus of officials from both parties praising a relationship that appears to be deepening over similar stances on the South China Sea.   ...

Just days after Cambodia was accused of watering down an ASEAN statement on the South China Sea, China promised to pay for a $16 million, 12-floor administration building for the National Assembly during a visit of delegates to the country led by Assembly President Heng ...

Lawmakers on Thursday sought additional funding from the E.U. to benefit tourism, mining and exports of rice and garments, despite calls last month by the European Parliament for aid cuts unless Cambodia shows greater respect for human rights.   ...

Members of the opposition will join their ruling party counterparts on the National Assembly’s (NA) Second Commission on Economics, Finance, Banking and Auditing in a meeting today with a European Union (EU) technical working group to discuss EU subsidies to Cambodia. ...

The Foreign Ministry has denied claims that the $600 million in aid promised to Cambodia by China this month was in any way tied to the Kingdom’s stance on the South China Sea. ...

Australia and Cambodia have agreed to enhance cooperation in the health sector, with Australia pledging $36 million for health improvements in the Kingdom. The commitment was made on Monday at the Health Ministry in a meeting between Minister Mam Bun Heng and newly appointed Australian Ambassador ...

The launching ceremony of a project for the expansion of water supply systems in Kampong Cham and Battambang, financed with Japanese grant aid assistance, took place yesterday in Battambang City in the presence of Prime Minister Hun Sen and Kumamaru Yuji, Japan’s ambassador to Cambodia. ...

China says its financial assistance to Cambodia is in no way dependent on its diplomatic support, including in Beijing’s dispute with other Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea.   ...

Unlike that of the United States and other western donors, Chinese aid is primarily allocated directly to the Cambodian government and usually does not carry requirements to report development results. Unsurprisingly, it has been argued that Chinese aid is not transparent and there is no ...

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission from Washington, D.C., headed by Sonali Jain-Chandra, visited Cambodia from July 6 to July 20, 2016 to conduct the annual Article IV staff discussions.   ...

China will provide Cambodia with more than half a billion dollars in aid, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday, less than a week after Cambodia again declined to support an Asean statement critical of Beijing’s claims to the hotly contested South China Sea. ...

In an attempt to deliver more accurate weather reporting in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has started building 30 additional weather stations throughout the country, according to officials. ...

A $9 million grant to promote government accountability in Cambodia and strengthen nongovernmental groups across the country was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).   ...

A key donor to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Coalition (CHRAC) has suspended its funding, citing operational concerns even as other revenue sources are seemingly drying up for the organisation.   ...

Cambodia has asked the World Bank to assist in the development of the terms of reference for its planned National Logistics Committee, a move that is hoped to improve the transportation sector and reduce costs for exporters. ...

The Japanese Embassy granted $256,317 in development aid to Cambodia on Monday, to be used by the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan) to promote the educational inclusion of children with disabilities. ...

Japan will continue funding the National Election Committee (NEC) ahead of the upcoming commune and national elections, despite growing international concern over Cambodia’s deteriorating political climate. ...

The World Bank has officially revised the status of Cambodia’s economy, moving it up a rung from the low-income bracket into lower-middle income territory – a reclassification that economists expect will lead to a scale-back of foreign aid and preferential trade access over the coming ...