KANNI Wignaraja, the UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP regional director, commended Cambodia efforts in mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) clearance, saying she was pleased with the cooperation between the Kingdom and UNDP.

Wignaraja is currently on a September 8-12 official visit to Cambodia and slated to meet senior government officials as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society organisations (CSOs) to discuss the UNDP’s contribution to achieving national development priorities and accelerating Cambodia’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

She went on a field visit to demining activity carried out by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) in Battambang province’s Kors Kralor district on September 10, along with Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).

“She [Wignaraja] was pleased with the demining work which has saved people’s lives and provided them with cleared land to grow rice safely,” said the UNDP in a September 10 social media post.

Joining her on the visit were Alissar Chaker, resident representative of the UNDP in Cambodia, Australian embassy first secretary Ryan Tierney, KOICA Cambodia country representative Rho Hyun-jun, CMAC director-general Heng Ratana, Battambang deputy provincial governor Soeum Bunrith and ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre executive director Prum Suonpraseth.

Thanks to his 1998 win-win policy which brought an end to civil war, Prime Minister Hun Sen was able to announce his vision of ending demining operations by 2025, said Thuch.

“Now that we are enjoying peace, we have defined demining work as one of Cambodia’s 18 SDGs,” said Thuch.

“I regard the UNDP as an important partner. They have joined us in the mine action field, and it is thanks to relationships like this that we will declare a mine-free Cambodia by 2025,” he added.

He said that since 2006, the Clearing for Results project had removed landmines from over 300sq km of land, providing safe land to over 1.1 million people, allowing them to safely farm and build homes. He thanked all development partners and “friendly countries” for assisting with the project.

He also offered his appreciation to the current donors who are supporting Phase IV of the project, including the UNDP, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. The current phase will continue until 2025.

Thuch added that many other donors and friendly countries shared a common vision with the Cambodian government on humanitarian mine action activities, including the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Norway and China, as well as UNICEF and several CSOs.

He said the demining work had not only saved people’s lives but also created smiles, as the day-to-day living standards of many have improved.

On September 9, Wignaraja met with Ouch Borith, Minister Delegate attached to the Prime Minister and permanent secretary of state for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. During the meeting, she said she was impressed with Cambodia’s rapid development in all fields, according to a press statement by the foreign ministry.

“She was very pleased with the cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia and UNDP. She said she wanted to see more engagement with the foreign ministry, as well as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other stakeholders, to make Cambodia more competitive in the region,” the ministry said, referring to the new Country Programme Document 2024-2028 between Cambodia and UNDP.

“Borith offered his appreciation for the strong cooperative relationship and thanked UNDP for assisting Cambodia’s socio-economic development efforts and its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” it added.