Aid and development

Prime Minister Hun Sen discussed the outstanding debt Cambodia owed to Russia on Wednesday, with the prime minister urging the debt be turned into investment and development in the country. ...

The independence of the country’s judiciary was among the issues that UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Rhona Smith raised yesterday during a meeting with the minister of justice as part of her 10-day visit. ...

Japan agreed to provide Cambodia with a $181 million loan yesterday to help the renovation of National Road 5 linking Phnom Penh to Poipet, to help expand the Japanese Bridge and to assist in demining operations throughout the Kingdom. ...

The Japanese Friendship Bridge in Phnom Penh is set to receive a $29.4 million renovation courtesy of the Japanese government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday. ...

Government officials on Wednesday applauded China’s decision to take emergency measures to counter the impact of a regional drought by releasing water into the Mekong River from the Jinghong Hydropower Station in China’s southwestern Yunnan province. ...

USAID is spending $1 million on a project the aim of which will improve nutrition across four provinces by training women in farming practices that have higher yields, produce more nutrient-rich vegetables and require less resources. ...

The Swiss government signed its first framework agreement with Cambodia during a meeting between Swiss Ambassador Ivo Sieber and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong yesterday. ...

Although loans to build infrastructure from the Japanese government may fall slightly this fiscal year, when grants and technical assistance are added to the total, overall assistance is likely to rise, Naoaki Kamoshida, a counsellor at the Japanese Embassy to Cambodia, said during a recent ...

Construction of a seaport in Kampot is set to begin this year two years after being approved thanks to an $18 million loan from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), according to officials. ...

The European Union is increasing its development grants to Cambodia by almost 50 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to a Friday statement. ...

Between 2008 and 2015, the World Bank and German aid agency GIZ spent $13 million setting up eight social land concessions for thousands of the poorest Cambodians, doling out small farms they could use to pull themselves out of poverty and, after a few years, ...

Residents and evictees from Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak and Bo­r­ei Keila neighborhoods re­turned to the World Bank’s country headquarters on Norodom Boul­evard on Monday to hurl eggs at the front gate and demand that the international lender leave Cambodia.   ...

In an effort to identify and address “key barriers that impede the realization of children’s rights in Cambodia,” the Cambodian government and UNICEF Cambodia officially signed a new Country Program Action Plan yesterday, entering a three-year partnership that will cost an estimated $65 million, according ...

The European Union pledged €10 million in preparation of the upcoming 2017 and 2018 elections yesterday, which the National Election Committee (NEC) hopes to add to in a new budget they will be submitting to the government, according to NEC officials. ...

Swiss ambassador to Cambodia Ivo Sieber pledged his country’s continued support of Kantha Bopha Hospital yesterday, mentioning that almost half of the hospital’s funding comes from the Swiss government. The promise was made during Amb. Seiber’s meeting with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong at the Foreign ...

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction issued a statement on Saturday defending its track record and denying that Germany ended its support for the ministry’s land rights program due to a lack of transparency and sluggish reform pace. ...

A Tongan national was appointed as Asian Development Bank’s director for Cambodia effective 01 February.Samiuela T. Tukuafu will lead ADB operations in Cambodia to support the country’s development goals of promoting inclusive growth and diversifying the economy. ...

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong is in China this week for official talks aimed at strengthening trade and security ties. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to provide financing totally about 880 million US dollars to Cambodia for 2016 – 2018. According to a press release from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which was released yesterday. ...

The European Union (EU) last week announced this year’s recipients of 8.2 million euros ($8.9 million) in grants to civil society, with much of the money going to nongovernmental groups whose stated goal is to make the country’s elections more open and inclusive.  ...

Cambodia must tackle the skills gap to boost the productivity of its labor force in order to grow its economy, according to the latest report. ...

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has started work with Cambodia on patent applications, a move which will allow firms from both countries to hasten the process. ...

Though it’s extremely early days, experts this week welcomed Cambodia’s membership to the nascent China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), saying it would provide much-needed diversity of funding for the nation’s infrastructure and connectivity needs. ...

Six months after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Cambodian government to scrap a draft NGO law that came into effect in August, the E.U. announced on Monday that it had pledged 8.2 million euros (about $8.9 million) to local and international ...