Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Commerce ministry looks to ADB support in digital biz advance

Commerce ministry looks to ADB support in digital biz advance

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Commerce ministry secretary of state Sok Sopheak meets with ADB chief economist Albert Park on sideline of the 10th Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum, held from August 29 to September 1. COMMERCE MINISTRY

Commerce ministry looks to ADB support in digital biz advance

Cambodia has asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for financial and technical assistance to strengthen the digital business landscape, as senior officials acknowledge that the Kingdom still suffers from notable shortcomings in the sector.

Assistance from the Metro Manila-based multilateral lender is expected to help Cambodia keep pace with and consistent with the Cambodia Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework 2021-2035.

The request was made during the 10th Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum, held from August 29 to September 1 and co-organised by the ADB, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on August 31.

Commerce ministry secretary of state Sok Sopheak took the opportunity of the forum to meet with ADB chief economist Albert Park to exchange views and opinions on recent developments in trade and investment in Cambodia.

At the meeting, Sopheak requested that the ADB consider providing financial and technical resources to address ongoing challenges, with a particular focus on the digital business sector.

He stressed that Cambodia faces hurdles in the formulation of strategic policies that concern the recovery of regional and global supply and value chains, as well as designing ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure development projects that support digital integration and trade facilitation.

“Trade facilitation” is the general term for the overall framework of measures aimed at removing legal and technical obstacles across the full spectrum of border procedures to help make the international movement of imports and exports cheaper, easier, faster and more efficient and predictable, while safeguarding safety, security, health and other legitimate regulatory goals.

Sopheak commented that the commerce ministry’s Trade Training and Research Institute (TTRI) also requires a leg-up to strengthen the capacities and skills of officials involved in negotiations for free trade deals.

Ministry spokesman Penn Sovicheat vouched for ADB’s willingness to support Cambodia through technical projects, especially in terms of trade, noting that the Kingdom’s latest request also aims to undergird the implementation of the Cambodia Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework 2021-2035.

He said his ministry would also implement a project involving “e-commerce diplomacy infrastructure as well as e-commerce training for small- and medium-sized enterprises”.

The ADB affirms that it is one of Cambodia’s largest sources of official development assistance, with an average annual lending of $329.8 million from 2016-2021.

Royal Academy of Cambodia economics researcher Ky Sereyvath sees the digital economy as a key issue for the Kingdom, which he remarked was relatively late on the bandwagon, and only focused on the transition during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Cambodia has only been truly active in the digital economy during the Covid-19 crisis, which has helped keep the economy afloat even if sellers and buyers cannot meet in person,” he said, adding that developed countries in particular have been striving to strengthen digital business during the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The ADB says that as of 2021, it has committed 319 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totalling $4.2 billion to Cambodia, focusing on education, health, infrastructure, rural development, energy, transportation, infrastructure, among other areas.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on