Cambodia and Australia have agreed to expand Australian assistance to Cambodia to update Cambodia’s engineering standards, ease its transition to electric vehicles and assist with wastewater strategy development.

The agreement was reached on November 17at a meeting between Australian ambassador to Cambodia Pablo Kang and Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol .

“Ambassador Kang met this week with H.E. Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister for Public Works and Transport where they agreed to expand Australian assistance to update Cambodia’s engineering standards, its transition to electric vehicles, and wastewater strategy development,” the Australian embassy to Cambodia said on its Facebook page.

The Facebook post added that – twenty years ago – Australia helped Cambodia develop engineering standards for roads and bridges which have defined Cambodian infrastructure standards ever since.

The Australian embassy stated that Australia will continue supporting its longstanding quality infrastructure partnership by helping Cambodia to update those standards to ensure climate resilience and incorporate recent technological advances through their new regional Partnerships for Infrastructure – P4I – programme.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne recently visited Cambodia and met with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kuntha Phavi, wherein she also pledged additional support for Cambodia, particularly in its role as chair of ASEAN for 2022.