Programme for Country Partnership Cambodia

2021

8 Dec 2021

UNIDO and the Asian Development Bank discuss boosting Cambodia’s 4IR transformation within the framework of the PCP.

1 Sep 2021

First PCP Partner and Donor Working Group meeting held in Cambodia, gathering over 100 representatives from the Government, development partners and business sector associations.

1 Sep 2021

3 Aug 2021

UNIDO launches an EU-funded value chain investment support scheme for post-harvest fisheries in Cambodia as part of the PCP’s agro-value chain component.

1 May 2021

Government of Cambodia holds the first meeting of the PCP’s high-level inter-ministerial national coordination body.

1 May 2021

1 Apr 2021

UN Resident Coordinator in Cambodia, Pauline Tamesis, talks about synergies between UN development system-wide efforts and the PCP in Cambodia at a UNIDO Member State briefing on the PCP.

2020

20 Dec 2020

UNIDO and the Royal Government of Cambodia sign the PCP programme document, marking the start of the implementation phase.

20 Dec 2020

15 Apr 2020

UNIDO submits the revised PCP Programme Document to the Government of Cambodia for endorsement.

15 Jan 2020

UNIDO initiates an in-depth revision of the PCP Cambodia Programme Document.

15 Jan 2020

2019

18 Sep 2019

UNIDO and China support PCP Cambodia component on statistics for evidence-based policy-making and SDG monitoring.

1 Aug 2019

UNIDO and the European Union launch a comprehensive programme to support sustainable and inclusive growth in the fisheries sector.

1 Aug 2019

17 Jul 2019

UNIDO supports capacity-building for evidence-based industrial policymaking in Cambodia.

2018

28 Nov 2018

Bunthon Thay, Cambodia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva, discusses PCP Cambodia’s experience at the Advanced Session of the Seventh ISID Forum in Vienna.

28 Nov 2018

12 Oct 2018

Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, Ministry of Environment, and UNIDO launch a project to foster low carbon development for productivity and climate adaptation through the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technology (TEST) methodology. Funded by the GEF, the project combines technology transfer, policy advice and awareness raising activities to foster clean, low carbon technologies in Cambodia. A Cambodian high-level delegation composed of Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Pan Sosacha, Minister of Commerce, meets with the UNIDO Director General LI Yong at the occasion of the World Investment Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss collaboration within the framework of PCP Cambodia.

1 Aug 2018

Worldbridge Group International (Cambodia), UNDP and UNIDO initiate collaboration to support SME and SEZ development in Cambodia.

1 Aug 2018

11 May 2018

Cambodia builds on Shenzhen’s experience to develop Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The Council for the Development of Cambodia and UNIDO receive a Chinese delegation from the City of Shenzhen to discuss Shenzhen’s successful experience in the development of SEZs and related investment promotion activities. The Republic of Korea endorses funding for a capacity-building project to support the implementation and monitoring of Cambodia’s Industrial Development Policy, valued at US$ 1.2 million.

12 Mar 2018

Cambodia-China Business and Investment Forum 2018 held in Phnom Penh.

12 Mar 2018

12 Jan 2018

The Council of Ministers designates ministerial focal points for PCP Cambodia in line with the implementation mechanism for the national Industrial Development Policy.

2017

12 Dec 2017

Composition of a high-level Steering Committee for the PCP, chaired by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Council for the Development of Cambodia, is endorsed by the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

12 Dec 2017

13 Nov 2017

Joint declaration signed between the Government of Cambodia and UNIDO on the Programme for Country Partnership for Cambodia for 2018-2023.

12 Jun 2017

UNIDO Executive Board approves the development of PCP Cambodia.

12 Jun 2017

Introducing Cambodia

Cambodia has achieved significant development progress over the past two decades. This progress has been largely driven by strong economic growth, averaging at 7.7% from 1995 to 2017, placing Cambodia as the sixth fastest growing economy in the world (World Bank). Poverty rates fell from 52% in 2004 to 13.5% in 2014 and Cambodia attained lower-middle income status in 2015.

Building on recent progress and its vision to graduate to upper-middle-income status by 2030, the government designed an Industrial Development Policy (IDP) for the period 2015 to 2025. The IDP seeks to transform and modernize Cambodia’s industrial structure from labour-intensive to skills-driven and contribute to sustainable economic growth through increased economic diversification, competitiveness and productivity.

PCP Cambodia

A unique opportunity to boost the economy

In 2017, Cambodia was announced as the first PCP country in the Asia and Pacific region and part of the pilot phase. The Programme for Country Partnership for Cambodia (PCP Cambodia) will support the implementation of the national industrial development policy. It builds on Country Programme signed between the Government of Cambodia and UNIDO in 2016.

PCP Cambodia is structured along two main components: i) Agro value chain development, including linkages to the tourism sector; and ii) Industrial diversification, innovation and the development of special economic zones (SEZs).

This will be supported by several cross-cutting components, namely industrial policy and statistics, quality infrastructure, sustainable energy, circular economy, and women’s empowerment and youth employment.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS

PCP Cambodia supports the following targets from the country’s Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025, inter alia:

Increase the GDP share of the industrial sector from 24% to 30%
Increase the GDP share of manufacturing from 15.5% to 20%
Increase the exports of non-textile goods to 15%
Increase the exports of processed agricultural products to 12%
Formal registrations of small and medium-enterprises to reach 80-95%

The PCP will strengthen forward and backward industrial linkages along the agri-business value chain to promote competitive and inclusive growth of the country’s agro-industrial sector, leading to increased employment and income opportunities.

This PCP component aims to facilitate business environment reforms, enhance business development infrastructure, promote export diversification, increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, and foster innovation and inclusive and sustainable economic transformation.

The component will support the effective implementation of the national Industrial Development Policy (2015-2025) through capacity-building initiatives, the provision of policy advice and technical expertise, and the review and upgrade of existing policies and strategies.

The component will support the compliance capacity of private sector actors in prioritized value chains. Interventions will raise awareness and build capacity related to standards, technical regulations and quality requirements for domestic and foreign markets.

The goal of this component is to support Cambodia in transitioning towards sustainable energy through the application of renewable energy for productive use, energy efficiency in industry, and the introduction of low-carbon technologies and processes.

The aim of this component is to mainstream circular economy principles and practices in Cambodia’s industry, and contribute to increased productivity and competitiveness while reducing the environmental footprint of enterprises.

Support to women’s economic empowerment and youth employment will be integrated across all PCP interventions, taking a gender-responsive and youth-oriented approach.