Im Sour, deputy secretary-general of the CDC’s Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board. CDC
Cambodia and Thailand are committed to enhancing their cooperation in three existing development areas and agreed to add five more areas for the next three-year collaboration, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
The commitment was expressed during the 15th Consultation on Technical Cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand held via video conference on December 30. The meeting was co-chaired by Im Sour, deputy secretary-general of the CDC’s Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board, and Pattarat Hongtong, director-general of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA).
In a press release, the CDC said both countries agreed to proceed with three existing construction projects – the Cambodian-Thai Skills Development Institute; a three-storey building for the Thai language department at the Royal University of Phnom Penh; and the establishment of a transit and reception centre for trafficking victim and other vulnerable groups in Banteay Meanchey province.
Other than that, Cambodia and Thailand also agreed to include five new prioritised areas for development – economic development, rural and community development, social development, and environment and human resource development.
Thailand also reaffirmed its commitment to provide scholarship and short- and long-term training to Cambodians for the 2021-2023 period, the CDC said.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a separate press release about the meeting on January 4, reaffirming that TICA had agreed on the eight cooperation areas in the Thailand-Cambodia Development Cooperation Programme 2021-2023.
The Thai ministry said the three existing cooperation areas had 20 development projects in the health, agriculture and education sector under the first Thailand-Cambodia Development Cooperation Programme for 2017-2020. Cambodia and Thailand have acknowledged the implementation progress of these projects.
“The meeting noted with satisfaction the progress of development cooperation in human resource development (HRD) sector which is the backbone of Thailand-Cambodia Development Cooperation.
“[The] Thai side is keen to share experience and expertise in promoting security and resilience in 4 key areas namely: health security, job security, food security and energy security. While Cambodia expressed her appreciation to the Thai side and satisfaction with the development cooperation between the two countries over the past three years,” said the press release of Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The cooperation in the last three years, it said, had yielded fruitful results and helped support the socio-economic development in Cambodia.
Among the results is the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy application used for a sustainable community development project, which was implemented in Dam Bok Vil village in Malai commune of Banteay Meanchey province’s Malai district.
The establishment of the One Village One Product Regional Promoting Centre and the cooperation on Communicable Diseases Surveillance, Prevention and Control including Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases was also the result of the three-year collaboration, the press release said.
