EU Ambassador to Cambodia Carmen Moreno applauded the country’s efforts to control the Covid-19 crisis and said the EU is transferring a €56 million ($66.7 million) grant to help restore the economy, said a Ministry of Economy and Finance press release.

Her remarks were made during a video conference with Minister Aun Pornmoniroth on Monday. The talk touched on the needs of the Cambodian government and how the EU could help the country halt the Covid-19 virus and boost the economy, which has been hit by the disease.

“Moreno appreciates and places a high value on the government’s success in controlling the Covid-19 crisis and she confirmed the EU’s strong position in contributing its support.

“In this spirit, the EU headquarters in Brussels has approved a financial transfer from existing programmes to be used as a grant, to the government in restoring the economy,” the ministry said.

[Pornmoniroth] told Moreno that Cambodia has been working to control the Covid-19 situation and will continue its work and be even more active. He said the Kingdom had put together an in-depth strategy for the Covid-19 battlefield.

“Covid-19 is not only a crisis in public health. It causes negative impacts on other sectors of the economy, including garments, tourism, and small- and medium-sized enterprises,” the ministry said.

Pornmoniroth told Moreno that Cambodia had set up four ad-hoc working groups to deal with the impacts of the virus. One group will control the supplies and prices of strategic products, and another group has been formed to set up a mechanism to provide social support during this time.

The third group is tasked with preparing a budget, grants, and a social support model to be used in the fight against Covid-19.

The fourth group is a concerted technical working group which deals with currency, banking, and solving the economic impacts caused by the virus.

The group will also work on the impact of the withdrawal of the “Everything But Arms” (EBA) scheme, the ministry said.

Replying to The Post on Tuesday, Moreno said: “In Cambodia, the EU will significantly enhance its support of social protection to the most vulnerable families as well as jobless workers.

“Parallel investment programmes in both rural and urban areas will be boosted to create jobs and opportunities.”