Multi-Year Indicative Financing Framework (MYIFF)
Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 20 June 2007

Senior Minister KEAT CHHON, M.P.
Minister of Economy and Finance
First Vice-Chairman, Council for the Development of Cambodia
Chairman, CDCF
Royal Government of Cambodia


  -  Colleagues from the Government
  -  Honorable Ambassadors, Distinguished Representatives of Development Partners
  -  Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. Please allow me to bring the meeting to order. Our final session before lunch concerns the Multi-Year Indicative Financing Framework.

  2. The objective of the Multi-Year Indicative Financing Framework is to reinforce the budget exercise by beginning to establish the practice of obtaining medium-term indications of NSDP financing from our development partners. The transition away from pledging at this first CDCF meeting is, therefore, something that I hope we would all welcome.

  3. It is recognised that resource estimates are indicative. We recognise that outer year projections are subject to approval of your Boards and Parliaments. We therefore no longer intend to use the term 'pledge' as we also note that a large share of the indicative resources we graciously acknowledge from our development partners have already been committed in on-going projects and programmes.

  4. We therefore hope that by emphasizing the indicative nature of the exercise we have encouraged our development partners to support our efforts to establish a more comprehensive and robust planning and budgeting exercise. Likewise, we acknowledge their efforts in providing indications of medium-term resource availability.

  5. Please therefore allow me to open the floor now so that our development partners can have the opportunity to deliver statements related to the resourcing of the NSDP. I will then share with you the consolidated figures that we have received from development partners before attempting to reflect on how this fits with the funding profile and requirements highlighted in the NSDP and in the Public Investment Programme - the PIP.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. I thank you for these words and for these commitments. It is reassuring and of great encouragement for everyone in Government to learn that our development partners continue to have confidence in the policy direction we have set and in our ability to confront the challenges that we face.

  2. Of course, we fully recognise the scale of these challenges. We therefore greatly appreciate not only the resources that have been made available by the international community but, of equal importance, the spirit of partnership that will characterize our joint efforts to address them.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. Please allow me to turn now to the consolidated set of financial commitments that have been provided to us in advance of this meeting.

  2. In total, for the year 2007, a total resource allocation of approximately 689 million Dollars has been indicated by our development partners.

  • 202 million Dollars will be provided by international organisations, including the United Nations, ADB and the World Bank;

  • 170 million Dollars will be provided by the European Commission and the combined countries of the European Union; and

  • 317 million Dollars will be provided by other bilateral development partners, including Japan, which expects to maintain its support at 2006 levels of approximately 115 million Dollars and China, which will provide over 90 million Dollars for on-going projects.

  1. Looking beyond this year, the utility of a medium-term exercise in strengthening our planning exercise becomes clear. Although two of our bilateral development partners have been unable to provide an indicative figure, the estimates provided by the all of the other development partners indicates that in 2008 support will be of the same order as in 2007.

  2. For 2009, many of our partners have observed that projected new commitments need to be confirmed but, once approximate levels of support from those partners who have not participated in this planning exercise are factored in, we are confident that development assistance will be maintained at the same levels as seen in 2006, 2007 and, based on our understanding, for 2008.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. On behalf of the Royal Government, please allow me to acknowledge this commitment and support.

  2. Based on estimates of funding requirements in the NSDP and the Public Investment Programme, and taking account of financing that Government will make available from its own resources, the amounts that we have recorded through this medium-term planning exercise indicate that the NSDP will be fully resourced at least until the end of 2009. Indeed we may also expect that implementation can be accelerated and I ask my colleagues at the Ministry of Planning to consider these figures when they next review progress in NSDP implementation and make their recommendations for moving forward to ward the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. Unless there are any further speakers who wish to contribute to this dialogue…

…please allow me to conclude this session with two short observations:

  1. First, to acknowledge the commitment to our partnership that has once again been so fully demonstrated by our development partners here today – and indeed throughout all of our discussions at this meeting. We heard yesterday that the implementation of the NSDP is, in the main, progressing well but let us not underestimate the stern nature of the on-going and remaining challenges. I cannot overstate the crucial role of the financial and technical resources provided by our development partners in delivering on the goals included in our NSDP and in improving the welfare of the people of Cambodia. I therefore offer my sincere thanks to development partners for the commitment they have shown.

  2. Second, please allow me to reaffirm that this discussion on medium-term financing of the NSDP is part of a broader package of reforms related to public financial management. We acknowledge the need within Government to strengthen the NSDP planning, financing, reporting and monitoring process, including by integrating all forms and sources of public revenues into the Budget exercise. But we also feel that we are making very positive strides in this direction and this is one more step toward establishing a comprehensive, predictable and sustainable framework through which we can implement the NSDP.

  3. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you most sincerely for contributing to the success of this Session. Please enjoy your lunch and I look forward to seeing you all again at this afternoon's Closing Session.

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