Friday, 15 February 2008

The United Kingdom Will Grant US$15 Million Financial Support for the Development to Cambodia

Posted on 15 February 2008.

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 547

“Phnom Penh: The Senior Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Keat Chhon, and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Mr. David Reader, signed an agreement on financial support through a grant of US$15 million to implement the national development strategic plan for the next three years.

“The funds to support this program will be granted to the Royal Government directly through the national budget. The purpose of this program is to provide additional funds to implement poverty reduction programs proposed in the national development strategic plan of the Royal Government of Cambodia, as well as to speed up and strengthen reforms in public finance administration, customs, tax, and land management, allowing wider access to basic services including education, health care, business facilities, the right to land ownership for the poor, and to improve the effectiveness of the grant for government capacity building programs.

“Mr. Keat Chhon, Senior Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said that the cooperation agreement to reduce poverty and to improve development is the first step of the joint commitment of the grant recipient and the development partners to ensure the effectiveness of the grant, by providing financial assistances through the Royal Government’s system. ‘On behalf of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, I would like to assure you of our commitment to transparently use the assistance donated by our development partners, and to fully assure you that the funds will be used for the expected objectives with transparency, and we take all measures to avoid any misuse of the aid for purposes different from the planned and agreed objectives. We would like to vow to use the development aid efficiently and make sure that it will maximize the benefits for the poor.’

“The British Ambassador Mr. David Reader added, ‘The Royal Government of Great Britain would like to compliment the Royal Government of Cambodia for its initial implementation of the multi-donor budget support program. This kind of direct funding is not only a major step toward the improvement of the ownership of Cambodia of its own development programs, but also an improvement of the cooperation with other development partners. This program will help the Cambodian government to speed up its reform efforts to stimulate growth and eliminate poverty. This program is our main endeavor to support the Cambodian government to achieve our joint commitment: to reduce poverty, to improve governance, to solve the problem of corruption, and to respect human rights.’ This grant will be given in the context of multilateral cooperation for the elimination of poverty and development, funded by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, the European Commission, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and the World Bank.”

Koh Santepheap, Vol.41, #6271, 14.2.2008

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