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Fourteenth Meeting of the
Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee (GDCC)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 28 April 2009
Opening
Remarks
by Deputy Prime Minister KEAT CHHON, M.P.
Minister of Economy and Finance
First Vice-Chairman, Council for the Development of Cambodia
Chairman, GDCC
Royal Government of Cambodia
Excellencies and
Colleagues from the Royal Government
Honorable Ambassadors and
Distinguished Representatives of Development Partners
Ladies and Gentlemen
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Welcome
to the Palais du Gouvernement for our fourteenth meeting of the
Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee. I would
particularly, like to welcome H.E.
Zhang Jinfeng, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China,
for attending our GDCC for the first time and I would also like to
welcome the delegation of New Zealand, who have come from Wellington to
attend our GDCC meeting. This is the first GDCC
meeting since the December 2008 Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum
and I look forward to continuing our dialogue in the same
partnership-based manner that was so evident throughout our CDCF
meeting.
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Our
discussions today are essentially a continuation of our CDCF dialogue.
The issues we discussed in this room in December – support to the Royal
Government's socio-economic development programme and reforms; the
economic challenges that we must face together; and the need for our
partnership to become more results-focused – are all very much still the
pressing issues on which our collective attention must be focused.
Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen
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Since our
December dialogue we have had to confront the harsh realities of the
global economic downturn and its impact on Cambodia. The economic
situation has been clearly affected since that time and we now
understand the implications of Cambodia's exposure to the external
environment. Projections for economic growth have been revised downwards
and the key drivers of growth such as the garment sector; tourism;
construction; and Foreign Direct Investment, have all shown evidence of
contraction or reduced income.
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Behind these
figures, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, lies the very real
probability that the livelihoods of the Cambodian people will be
seriously affected. The significant progress we have made towards
poverty reduction and the achievement of the Cambodia MDG targets may
even be reversed in some cases. But there are opportunities also, for
example by ensuring that declining food prices can directly enhance food
security and also increase our competitiveness as we seek to diversity
our products and markets. We must therefore work together to preserve
our gains, to consolidate our reforms, and to ensure that not only do we
weather this downturn but that we also emerge stronger as a result of
our combined efforts.
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Our meeting
today will perhaps be the most significant dialogue we have had for some
time. Much has already been reported in other high-level meetings and
conferences in the last months but today it is my hope that we can move
towards the identification of a collective, coherent and emphatic
response that can deliver quick result and impact. We must work together
to confront our immediate challenges but we must also begin to consider
and address the deeper-rooted and longer-term measures that will result
in a Cambodian economy that is more competitive, productive and
resilient.
Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen
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This morning
we will consider some of the main drivers of the economy and measures
that we can take individually and collectively to ameliorate the
economic situation and its impact on the Cambodian people. In each case
I hope that we can consider immediate as well as longer-term actions,
and identify the specific role for Government, the private sector and
our development partners. We will consider, in turn: the garment sector;
the strengthening of social safety nets; the agriculture and rural
development sectors; and measures that might be taken to stabilise and
sustain the flows of Foreign Direct Investment. I hope that we can spend
about two hours on these topics.
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We will then
review the key agreements that were made at the CDCF. A report on the
progress made in our Technical Working Groups with respect to the Joint
Monitoring Indicators has been shared in advance of this meeting and my
colleague Chhieng Yanara, from the Cambodian Rehabilitation and
Development Board, will provide a brief up-date on this as well as on
the effort to apply the Accra Agenda for Action by identifying relevant
and prioritised aid effectiveness initiatives at sector level. The
Ministry of Planning will provide an up-date on the extension of the
NSDP to 2013 and on progress towards the integration of planning and
budget processes.
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There is an
important role, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen – indeed there is a
responsibility – for our work as partners in Cambodia's development in
every topic that is on our agenda this morning. Within the Royal
Government's own committees, including the Committee for Economic and
Financial Policy (CEFP), we have been closely monitoring the economic
situation. We will continue to identify necessary measures to be taken
at macro and sector level, ensuring that the response is relevant,
adequate and well coordinated. But there is also an important role for
our Technical Working Groups and, of course, for our GDCC mechanism to
ensure that all of these important issues are brought forward for
analysis, discussion and joint action. I am confident in our ability to
work together as partners and I therefore look forward to our
discussions this morning.
Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen
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I thank you
for your kind attention. Unless there are any comments from the floor
then I propose that we move straight to our first agenda item.
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