Prime Minister Hun Sen requested that the president of the Nippon Foundation continue to assist Cambodia in the education and health sectors, and also maintain its support in the fight against leprosy.
The request came at a March 24 working meeting between the prime minister and Nippon Foundation president Yohei Sasakawa at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.
A social media post by the prime minister said Sasakawa had briefed him on the foundation, which is currently running four projects in the Kingdom.
The first is an artificial limb rehabilitation centre which the foundation opened 30 years ago, and continues to operate it, with constantly updated technology. The facility is so advanced that 28 nations have sent students to study its work with prosthetics.
The second is an English teaching programme for rural students, which has so far provided scholarships to around 25,000 students to study in Phnom Penh and abroad.
The third project works closely with the Ministry of Health to eradicate leprosy in the Kingdom. The project has been largely successful, with very few cases remaining.
The fourth involves the Nippon Foundation's activities to provide humanitarian assistance to women and children in Myanmar.
Prime Minister Hun Sen was pleased with the foundation’s work in the Kingdom, noting that it has not only helped Cambodians, but the people of other nations.
“I thanked Sasakawa for the foundation’s help in the education and health sectors and in the fight against leprosy. They have not just helped Cambodians. Through their prosthetics training and their humanitarian work in Myanmar, they have reached beyond the Kingdom’s borders. I requested that they continue to provide assistance,” said the post.
