4. CONCLUSIONS

52. The Royal Government of Cambodia faces daunting development challenges. Although significant progress has been made, much remains to be done. The development cooperation partners of Cambodia have been generous in supporting Cambodia’s development efforts. The RGC is gratified by the support of its partners and hopes that they will continue to provide their support to enable Cambodia to achieve its goal of reducing poverty among its people.

53. Since 1992, the development cooperation partners have reported to have provided to Cambodia US$ 6.3 billion. So far, much of this assistance has been planned, managed and delivered by development partners with limited ownership of development choices and management process by concerned Cambodian institutions. The Royal Government has now prepared a single National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) for the years 2006-2010 in close consultation with all development partners and the civil society to implement the policies outlined in the Rectangular Strategy. The NSDP: 2006-2010, is the single, overarching document containing RGC's priority goals and strategies to reduce poverty rapidly, and to achieve other CMDGs and socio-economic development goals for the benefit of all Cambodians. It operationalizes the Rectangular Strategy to achieve its intended goals. Also, a Public Investment Program for 2006-2008 has been prepared to support the implementation of the NSDP. Both of these documents were approved by the Royal Government at a Cabinet meeting on 27 January 2006. These two documents have been formulated to guide development cooperation partners to align and harmonize their efforts to improve aid-effectiveness and to secure a higher "net transfer of resources" than has been the case in the past. The Royal Government urges multilateral, international development cooperation partners, and NGOs to ensure that their country assistance strategies are aligned with the priorities outlined in the NSDP and their development programs and projects are aligned with the PIP.

54. In spite of the commitments of the international community in international arenas, including the Rome (2003) and Paris Declarations (2005), some practices of the development cooperation partners that have roots in the era of the 1990s, a period that various studies have characterized as a period of "donorship", continue. The challenge for the multilateral, international development cooperation partners of Cambodia, and NGOs is to quickly translate the commitments made in the international arena into concrete operational actions to change their practices to provide room to the Royal Government to assume ownership of its development management processes in an environment of cooperation, mutual trust, and mutual accountability to improve ODA effectiveness in order to maximize its benefits for the people of Cambodia.

55. There is now an urgent need to leave behind the practices of the 1990s, when development cooperation activities were planned, managed and delivered by development partners with limited ownership of development choices and management process by concerned Cambodian institutions. A review by the Secretariat of Government-Donor Coordination Committee (GDCC) in December 2005 of the joint (Government-Donor) Technical Working Group’s (TWGs) progress in implementing the RGC’s Action Plan on Harmonization and Alignment revealed that while on those activities that required Government action significant progress has been made, there has been only limited progress in areas where the development partners were to take specific actions. Also, another study on harmonization and aid coordination in Cambodia commissioned by DFID concluded that both within the Government and among development partners there is not yet a full understanding of the internationally agreed commitments made in the Rome and Paris Declarations. The Royal Government recognizes that it needs to strengthen the awareness of the Rome and Paris Declarations among officials of the ministries and agencies and has taken concrete steps in 2005. The Royal Government would like to see an equal commitment and political will among the development partners to work towards meeting their commitments of the Rome and Paris Declarations. In the spirit of the Rome and Paris Declarations, there is now an urgent need for development cooperation partners to give a high priority to:

• harmonizing their practices to minimize the burden on implementing institutions and to reduce wastage through duplication of activities in order to enhance ODA effectiveness;

• aligning their support with the Royal Government’s development priorities outlined in the just completed National Strategic Development Plan for 2006-2010;

• ensuring that management arrangements of ODA supported programs and projects follow the OECD/DAC guidelines on best practices for “managing for results” and the principle of Government ownership of the development management process; and

• ensuring that there is a greater net transfer of ODA resources, that are targeted to reach the poor and vulnerable, to reduce poverty and to achieve Cambodia’s Millennium Development Goals.
  

56. To enhance ODA effectiveness, the Royal Government would like Government institutions responsible for implementing the development programs and projects to take a greater ownership and responsibility for making efficient and effective use of available development resources. The Royal Government urges development cooperation partners to follow the principles and practices outlined in RGC’s Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management, the National Operational Guidelines for grant assistance, and the Standard Operating Procedures for loan assistance; as well as ensure that that their country assistance strategies are aligned with the priorities outlined in the NSDP and their development programs and projects are aligned with the PIP.

57. At this stage of development of Cambodia, the Royal Government of Cambodia places a high priority on securing financing of development programs/projects through grants from Cambodia’s development partners. The agriculture and rural development sectors play an important role in reducing poverty. Both of these sectors require continuing support of Cambodia's development cooperation partners in order to achieve the poverty reduction targets of the NSDP and Cambodia's Millennium Development Goals.