Cambodia and India are moving forwards in their cooperation in the area of information and communications technology (ICT) to meet long-term objectives and sustainability in the sector, the Indian embassy in Phnom Penh said on Monday.

During a two-day visit to Cambodia on Monday and Tuesday by a delegation from the Department of Telecommunications under India’s Ministry of Communications, a major step was taken with the signing of the India-Cambodia Umbrella Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU will enable competencies exchange and further leveraging on mutual complementary strengths, a press release stated.

The MoU encompasses a broad range of areas of cooperation, such as ICT policy, spectrum management and certification, ICT application for disaster management, cybersecurity and incident response.

The MoU will be a broad instrument to meet the aspirations of both countries’ citizens through various initiatives and long-term cooperation on a continual basis in areas of ICT development, the release added.

The Indian government-owned telecommunications technology development centre, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and Telecom Cambodia signed a separate MoU on providing robust technology and telecommunications solutions.

C-DOT has developed various technology products and solutions for scattered populations across different types of geographies, the release said.

“This will help Cambodia deploy these rugged and proven technologies to address rural telecommunication requirements. C-DOT will also look at technology transfer to Telecom Cambodia so that respective solutions and products can be developed in Cambodia itself,” it read.

Indian industry will work with the Kingdom’s telecoms industry on various needs and requirements on a continual basis.

India’s leading telecom consultancy agency TCIL, the Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) and partners such as VNL and Tejus also participated in meetings and discussions.