Aid and development

About 50 people with claims to land being developed in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva peninsula protested in front of City Hall on Monday and delivered a petition on behalf of more than 100 families demanding intervention in their dispute with the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation ...

UNESCO and the Ministry of Education on Monday launched a two-month joint campaign to raise the adult literacy rate to 84.4 percent by the end of the year by airing television and radio spots to encourage enrollment in after-school literacy classes. ...

The leaders of Japan and five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River plan to craft a new strategy in July for Tokyo to contribute to sustainable development of the Mekong region beyond 2015, a senior Japanese official said Thursday. “Taking this opportunity from this ...

The European Union on Monday launched the second phase education capacity development project worth 11 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia, aiming at strengthening the skills of educators. ...

The appropriate scope of a controversial proposed ban on NGOs “insulting” political parties in election campaigns on Monday continued to divide the CPP and CNRP during talks to amend the nation’s election law, with the negotiating teams deciding to pass the issue on to their ...

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) yesterday unveiled a $52 million plan to help Cambodia’s government develop policies to assist poor farmers to improve agricultural productivity. ...

A CPP-aligned youth group and a regional road-safety NGO on Tuesday launched a $1.2 million, two-year pilot program to educate Cambodians about the importance of wearing helmets while driving or riding as passengers on motorbikes. ...

The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) plans to borrow at least $400,000 for international marketing campaigns if it fails to meet its goal of raising $777,000 for the plans through imposing export fees on its members, the organization’s president said Friday at CRF’s annual conference. ...

Rights groups have asked the World Bank to schedule a “special meeting” with evictees before deciding whether to lift a freeze on new loans to Cambodia, and to hold it in Thailand so that participants can speak their minds without fear of reprisal from the ...

Rights groups have asked the World Bank to schedule a “special meeting” with evictees before deciding whether to lift a freeze on new loans to Cambodia, and to hold it in Thailand so that participants can speak their minds without fear of reprisal from the ...

As Vietnam and Laos negotiate to enter a European Union trade agreement aimed at improving forestry governance, the EU – one of the world’s top timber importers – is urging Cambodia to join the scheme. ...

Villagers in three provinces are currently being surveyed by the Ministry of Rural Development and South Korea’s International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for an upcoming development pilot project. The surveys in Takeo, Kampong Speu and Tbong Khmum provinces seek to find 30 villages to be a part ...

The European Union (EU) said this week that it has hired a pair of consultants to help the government design a system for compensating the thousands of families believed to have had their homes or farms illegally confiscated by the country’s private sugar plantations. ...

During a defence of his 30-year legacy on Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen also took pains to extricate the nation’s newest, longest and most expensive bridge from corruption allegations. ...

In a bid to stock 1.2 million tonnes of rice paddy, Cambodia has sent a draft memorandum of understanding to China asking the country for a $300 million loan to build more than 10 warehouses nationwide. The draft MoU was prepared by the Ministry of Economy ...

In the face of global economic fragility, the Cambodian government needs to review its fiscal policies and deepen its pockets – building a “buffer” for use in times of crisis, the World Bank has warned. The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2015 report states that Cambodia ...

Oil-importing nations such as Cambodia should be first in line to benefit from the oil-price decline provided they swiftly enact reforms to reinvest savings into strengthening fiscal policy and human capital, according to the World Bank. ...

The European Union will speak to Cambodia’s government on behalf of two communities in Battambang involved in land disputes, according to the rights group Adhoc. ...

Global garment brands who source their products from Cambodia should play a part in helping the industry absorb the new minimum wage of US$ 128 per month, according to experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The new minimum wage for the approximately half-a-million workers in ...

Cambodia has become increasingly reliant on China for aid. But critics warn that financial support from China is not well tracked and likely means the country has undue influence over the government, and that could mean more trouble down the road as Cambodia looks toward ...

The European Union has announced new funding of EUR410 million under its bilateral cooperation with Cambodia over the period 2014-2020 to continue its support to Cambodia’s progress. ...

A senior official of the Cambodian government on Saturday welcomed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s pledge of 3.09 billion U.S. dollars aid to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) member countries, saying the offer is essential for socio-economic development and poverty reduction. The offer includes 1 billion ...

Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided US$67 millions in loan to support and improve water supply, tourism and financial sectors in Cambodia. The loan agreement was signed Thursday between Aun Pornmoniroth, Cambodia’s Minister of Economy and Finance, and Eric Sidgwick, ADB Country Director for Cambodia. ...

The Labor Ministry on Thursday launched a new three-year policy for improving the lot of Cambodia’s more than 700,000 migrant workers that includes plans to step up monitoring of the country’s often-abusive recruitment agencies and add labor attachés to more embassies. Nilim Baruah, a senior ...