Prime Minister Hun Sen requested that specialist machinery manufacturer DMG Mori and the Japanese government continue to assist Cambodia in developing its technical and digital sectors to help the Kingdom move forward.
The request came as he met with Mori Masahiko on May 23 at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.
During the meeting, Hun Sen said Cambodia is boosting its digitalisation plans, and that the Kingdom has two goals for the industrial sector – encouraging investment in processing plants that will add value to the country’s raw materials and attracting modern technology.
“We request that DMG MORI and the Japanese government continue to support these goals,” he said in a social media post.
The premier said Masahiko had explained the purpose of the newly launched Cambodia-Japan Digitalised Manufacturing Centre (CJDM), which has three purposes: to promote the digitalisation of industry in Cambodia, to develop human resources and to foster cooperation between the Kingdom’s digital industries.
Masahiko described the centre as an equal project between the Japanese government, the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and DMG Mori. The facility is equipped with the latest digital manufacturing machinery that the company produces and will address the Kingdom’s modern manufacturing concerns.
“DMG MORI intends to continue to train Cambodians in the use of these machines,” Hun Sen said.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng said on May 24 that Japan’s support and promotion of the digitalisation of Cambodian industry was of immense value to the Kingdom.
“They are helping to develop much-needed human resources and fostering cooperation between the industries that are already employing digital technology,” he said.
“As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, we require investment in terms of both funding and human resources, so we welcome the assistance of Japan or any other nations that employ advanced technology,” he added.
Heng said he believed that in the near future, factories will rapidly evolve towards the use of robots and other automated manufacturing processes. In order to ensure that the Kingdom is able to keep pace with the coming changes, a workforce with the skills to operate advanced industrial machinery will be necessary.
