Cambodia, donors to meet on development aid on May 2

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen will preside over the third Cambodia development cooperation forum (CDCF) at the council for development of Cambodia (CDC) to be held on May 2-3,” the statement from the government obtained on Friday said.
The statement issued by deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance H.E Keat Chhon and he also is first vice president of the council for development of Cambodia. The meeting focuses on the development aid from friend countries to Cambodia and review the past works that set up in plan. So far, it did not have a concrete report about the mount of budget that Cambodia will ask for and get from the donor countries. The national assembly on May 31 also will debate about the national development plan for 2009-2013.
Donor countries handed over about 951.5 million U.S. dollars of development aid to Cambodia in 2009. At that that time, China is the biggest donor of Cambodia in 2009 with about 257 million U.S. dollars of development aid. And The European Union (EU) is the second row with 214 million U.S. dollars and Japan is the third with about 113 million U.S. dollars, and International institutions and donor countries provided some 689 million U.S. dollars of aid for the kingdom in 2007. Those development aid were contributed to implement the development of the country and used to build infrastructures, road construction, and bridges for serving the benefits of the local community and other sectors including health, education, clean water, and environment.
The statement from forum said that we need to continue to emphasize the principles of partnership; trust and understanding; mutual accountability; and a need to continue to focus on managing resources so that they produce the anticipated results. On this basis, stronger Government ownership in the Technical working groups (TWGs) and improved development results will be the result of our closer partnership.
The statement from the NGO Position Papers on Cambodia’s Development in 2009-2010 said that
NGOs asked to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and its development partners to include discussions on strengthening implementation of Cambodia’s laws, continuation of land reforms and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in the CDCF and recommend that these issues be included in the new set of JMIs (joint monitoring indicators). It said that the 20 NGO Position Papers positively recognize recent progress made by the RGC, with positive developments in health and education and increasing public availability of budget information, for instance. Grounded in their daily work with communities throughout Cambodia, NGOs recognize the need for further improvements in the implementation of existing laws, policies and reform programs, as this has the potential to improve the lives of millions of Cambodians, aid their recovery from the crisis and provide opportunities for future development. As part of civil society’s contribution to strengthening democracy and as a constructive partner in government–development partner dialogue, NGOs stand ready to engage in further discussions with all participants in the CDCF.