Aid and development

Cambodia is rapidly expanding its diplomatic affair with China. Early last week it appealed to Beijing for help amid plunging rice pricesand then three days later Phnom Penh signed an MoU seeking Chinese assistance in overhauling its much maligned judiciary. The memorandum of understanding allows China ...

Cambodia is edging increasingly close to China, as the superpower lavishes aid on the ASEAN nation that has proved a robust ally in the South China Sea dispute. Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Cambodia tomorrow for a two-day official visit, consolidating a far-reaching relationship ...

Experts from the Korea International Cooperation Agency last week conducted a preliminary study on improving access to maternal and child healthcare services in villages through mobile clinics, under the Korea Aid Project. Aligned with the strategies of the Lao government on public health and Korea’s Better ...

Economic growth in Laos will remain buoyant however the region still faces significant risks to growth, according to a new World Bank report. The outlook of the Lao economy remains favourable overall but with increasing downside risks GDP growth is projected to remain at around seven ...

Despite an onset of risks—the uncertainty of upcoming elections, a looming E.U.-Vietnam free-trade deal and a rising U.S. dollar—the immediate outlook for Cambodia’s economy remains bright, a World Bank report released on October 5 says. But the country will have to address looming challenges now in order ...

The Asian Development Bank has committed more than $1 billion in new loans to Cambodia over the next three years to help the country invest in infrastructure, education and other priorities, government officials announced on October 5. Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth announced the $1.09 ...

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Ousmane Dione on his appointment as new Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at a reception at the Government’s headquarters in Hanoi on October 4. He said the WB is important to Vietnam and bilateral relations are being ...

Japan and Laos have agreed on a joint plan to spur development in the landlocked Southeast Asian country during a meeting between their leaders. At their meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits here this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Lao ...

The European Union has begun training Cambodia’s Forestry Administration to use satellite imagery to crack down on deforestation. Members of the EU’s Joint Research Centre have been meeting with forestry officials since September 26, teaching them how to analyse images captured by the EU’s Sentinel-2 satellite ...

The U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia on September 28 hit the country with a growing list of criticisms over alleged human rights abuses, which Cambodia parried with the apparent support of neighboring states, including Burma, Laos, Thailand and China. Rhona Smith, in a presentation ...