Kingdom inks Programme for Country Partnership
THE government on December 10 sig ned a rev i sed P rog r a mme for Country Partnership (PCP) document with the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
UNIDO director-general Li Yong and Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Cham Prasidh endorsed the document via video link, the UNIDO said in a press release.
It said the document is tailored to foster industrial diversification, special economic zone development, innovation and support for the development of agrovalue chains, with emphasis on those linked to the ailing tourism sector.
The London-based NGO Agriculture for Impact defines agricultural value chains as “the flow of products, knowledge and information between smallholder farmers and consumers.
“They offer the opportunit y to capture added va lue at each stage of the production, marketing and consumption process,” it adds.
The UNIDO said: “Cross-cutting components in the area of industrial policy and statistics, quality infrastructure, sustainable energy, and the circular economy, as well as women’s empowerment and youth employment, will ensure a comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of key stakeholders and vulnerable groups.”
The signing was accompanied by the launch of the Agro-Food and Tourism Enterprise Recovery Programme, one of the key projects to be implemented, which addresses the challenges faced by the Kingdom’s micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) during Covid-19, it said.
Cambodia became the first country in Asia to pilot the PCP initiative on November 27, 2017, when Prasidh and UNIDO’s Li signed a joint declaration for the PCP for 2018-2023, according to the UNIDO.
It added that the PCP is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, which was represented at the December 10 virtual signing by its director of cooperation Markus Buerli.
Prasidh was quoted as saying: “The PCP plays a crucial role in supporting the
implementation of key policy documents and in achieving the government’s priorities, especially in regards to the immediate recovery strategy devised to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.”
He also “strongly encouraged relevant government agencies, donors, partners and the private sector to join forces to maximise the PCP’s development impact”, according to the UNIDO.
The signing represents a landmark event i n UNIDO’s suppor t for t he Kingdom’s ambition of becoming an upper-midd le-i ncome cou nt r y by 2030, the UN agency said.
And UNIDO’s Li emphasised t hat
“by focusi ng on sectors wit h hig h grow t h potentia l, t he PCP will help Cambodia to achieve its industria lisat ion objec t ives, i n l i ne w it h it s nationa l development agenda.
“The PCP is a multi-stakeholder partnership at the country-level. Therefore, UNIDO will join hands with all development partners active in the country, not only for a short-term recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, but also in its longterm efforts towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs [sustainable development goals],” Li said.
UN resident coordinator to Cambodia Pauline Tamesis stressed that “the PCP can also enable the UN in Cambodia at large to successfully implement the socio-economic response framework to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19”.
The EU is a donor for major UNIDO projects in Cambodia, and its ambassador Carmen Moreno stated that “the PCP provides us with a very useful framework to explore further possibilities to work with the Cambodian government and UNIDO to fully harness Cambodia’s industrial development potential”.
Prasidh expressed pride in the fact that the PCP and its agribusiness rehabilitation plan for the tourism sector have now been officially signed, paving the way for the full implementation of the programme, despite the international Covid-19 crisis.
“The of f icia l launch of t he PCP is timely and necessar y. We must mobilise all of our resources to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and to sustain our economic grow th,” he said.