1. INTRODUCTION

1. The purpose of this report is to present a succinct update on progress that has been made by the Royal Government of Cambodia in building and strengthening partnerships with its national and international development partners. As stated in the Rectangular Strategy strengthening partnerships with all development partners -- the donor community, the private sector and civil society -- is a top priority of the Royal Government. The basic principles that will continue to guide Royal Government's actions to build and strengthen partnerships with the donor community are embodied in the Resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the work of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/DAC), as well as the initiatives of the World Bank and the United Nations system. Government-Private Sector Forum will continue to be further strengthened to enhance its effectiveness as a mechanism of partnership between the public and private sectors. The Royal Government will continue to further strengthen cooperation between the State and the civil society based on rule of law to enhance democracy, freedom, social order and primacy of law. The Royal Government would like to see the civil society become an effective partner of the Government in nation building. To this end, the Royal Government will continue to encourage the activities of the Non-Governmental Organizations and other duly-registered associations working to serve and benefit the people and the nation. The Royal Government welcomes the participation of the NGOs in the process of socio-economic rehabilitation and development and the promotion of democracy and respect for human rights. The Royal Government will speed up the drafting, adoption and implementation of the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations, after broad consultations with all relevant institutions and organizations.

2. This report begins by highlighting the key features of Cambodia's New Development Cooperation Partnership Paradigm that it presented to the development partners at the 4th CG Meeting held in 2000 and subsequent developments. This paradigm will continue to guide Royal Government's actions as we move forward. The next section presents a summary of progress that has been made both in the international arena and within Cambodia to strengthen partnerships in order to improve aid effectiveness and to achieve Cambodia's Millennium Development Goals. The final section outlines Royal Government's planned initiatives to further strengthen the partnerships over the next year.