Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth thanked the Australian government and people for continuing to provide grants and technical assistance as well as supporting human resource development for the Cambodian government and the people of Cambodia.
Pornmoniroth met with Australia's new ambassador to Cambodia, Justin Whyatt, on March 9 to discuss work within the Cambodia-Australia bilateral cooperation financing framework.
In a press release, the finance ministry said that at the meeting Pornmoniroth highlighted achievements that were made from the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
“Good relations between us have borne satisfactory fruit within the framework of financing cooperation, cooperation between the states and bilateral trade, which has been strengthened and expanded steadily,” the press release stated.
Many programmes and projects have been implemented within the framework of grants from the Australian government, including the Cambodia-Australia Agricultural Value Chain Programme (CAVAC), Infrastructure Investment Programme (3i), Partnership for Infrastructure (P4I), Mekong-Australia Partnership (MAP) and the Australia-Cambodia Cooperation for Equitable Sustainable Services (ACCESS) programme.
The Cambodia Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAP RED) consists of $65 million in grants. Bilateral trade volume between the two countries has steadily increased from $205 million in 2019 to $523 million in 2022.
“The ambassador praised the achievements of the Royal Government of Cambodia. In particular he saw development in all areas, macroeconomic management, the fight against Covid- 19 and the successful implementation of the social protection programmes, despite the pandemic and the consequences of the Russian war on Ukraine,” the press release said.
Whyatt stated that he will continue to further strengthen and deepen the friendship and cooperation between Cambodia and Australia to contribute to development.
The minister thanked the ambassador for continuing to support the development of Cambodia and fostering excellent cooperation with Australia. He wished the ambassador a successful mission in Cambodia.
