Tin Sokhavuth
Japan has been involved in the development of Cambodia since the signing of Paris Peace Agreement in 1991, when it dispatched its first Peace Keeping Operation Mission to Cambodia.
Its development assistance in Cambodia is part of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy of the Japanese government that aims to help Cambodia and the whole Mekong Region countries in order to narrow the development gap between ASEAN member countries.
Following this policy, the Japanese government has been helping Cambodia to install and renovate its infrastructure with a view to promote the participation of the private sector in the developments and the reforms taking place in Cambodia.
Through the “Agreement between Japan and the Kingdom of Cambodia for the Liberalization, Promotion and Protection of Investment,” the Government of Japan has assisted Cambodia since 2008 to build necessary infrastructure that attracts Japanese investors more and more to come to invest in the Kingdom.
Since 1992, Japan is one of the biggest donors to Cambodia in terms of development assistance. In response to this assistance, Cambodia has supported Japan’s positions on many issues in the international arena.
The primary goal of the Japanese government is to assist the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), without political distinction, to achieve its development plan, the so-called “Rectangular Strategy,” in order to narrow the development gap in the region and to ensure security and environmental sustainability.
For this reason, the Japanese government has been setting up three main policies in a view to assist Cambodians in developing their country. Those three policies are the “Strengthening of Economic Base”, “Promotion of Social Development” and “Strengthening of Governance.”
To strengthen the basis of the Cambodian economy, Japan aims to develop the country’s road network by centering on the Southern Economic Corridor that links Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City. Geographically, this corridor was considered as the center of the Mekong Region and plays a crucial role for economic activities in the region.
Besides the corridor, the development of the area around the port at Sihanoukville is also considered as important for economic activities.
To attract more investors, Japan also mentioned the importance of the development of a stable electricity supply system, a reliable information and communications technology (ICT), and an improvement of the logistical system is also needed.
To strengthen the private sector, Japan supports policy aiming to develop human resources for the industrial sector. The development of human resources in the field of engineers and technicians are a response to the Cambodian labor market, and middle-level management is also required by the Cambodian manufacturing industries.
Agriculture is the backbone of the Cambodian economy, because it absorbs a large part of the Cambodian population – about 80 to 85 percent of the Cambodian population are farmers. For this reason, the Government of Japan wants to improve the productivity and quality of rice of the farmers, especially the “underprivileged” farmers.
Japan also wants to support the rehabilitation and development of the irrigation system. For Japan, the irrigation skills and rice production skills in the western and southern parts of the country needed to be improved. On the other hand, to improve the livelihood of the underprivileged farmers, Japan wants to support the improvement and diversification of the farming industry.
To improve the livelihood of people living in big cities, Japan has cooperated with the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to develop water systems in major cities in order to provide clean water. Japan is also concerned about the sewage system in the capital of Phnom Penh as the population grows.
Despite the improvement of maternal and child health care in Cambodia, the mortality rate is still high compared to neighboring countries. For this reason, Japan continues to support maternal and child healthcare sector in order to help to strengthen Cambodian health care system.
As for education sector, the Government of Japan supports the training of teachers at elementary and lower secondary school by focusing on the training in mathematics and science, in which Japan has extensive knowledge and experience.
To help Cambodian people live in a safer place, Japan supports Cambodia’s efforts to achieve the target stated in the “National Mine Action Strategy 2010-2019.” However, Japan urges the Cambodian government to strictly control the budget for demining operations in order to achieve its goals.
As for the legal system, besides the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure, Japan also supports the development of other related laws and regulations and the strengthening of judiciary human resources in all activities.
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