Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2-3 June 2010

Deputy Prime 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

Closing Remarks

  -  Colleagues from the Government

  -  Honorable Ambassadors, Distinguished Representatives of Development Partners

  -  Ladies and Gentlemen

1.           I wish to begin by thanking my colleague and CDCF Alternate Chair, H.E. Moniroth, for his excellent summary. I welcome the joint nature of this statement and trust that this will ensure that all agreements are fully implemented.

2.           Before formally providing my Closing Remarks, I wish to invite Ms Annette Dixon, Country Director of the World Bank, to say a few words and to provide any additional observations on behalf of development partners.

[World Bank provides some observations]

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

3.           I thank Ms Annette Dixon for her remarks on behalf of development partners. In the presence of our Executive Director of the World Bank, H.E. Mr Hagan, I also wish to acknowledge the role of the World Bank which, as in previous years, has facilitated the contribution of development partners both before and during the CDCF, a not insignificant task that has ensured the smooth preparation and conduct of our meeting. In this spirit, I also extend our special thanks to Ms Rebecca from the World Bank and to Mr Philip, from UNDP.

4.           Please allow me to offer some closing remarks as we conclude the Third Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum. It has been most gratifying to have performed the role of Chair to this important meeting. There has been a good deal of continuity that builds on past dialogue at both CDCF and in the GDCC. This is based on partnership and engagement and I believe it has helped to establish a clear path for the implementation of the NSDP Update. I also note some positive change in our partnership, however, as we have come to increasingly emphasise the importance of results in our work. I believe the NSDP Update provides a clear approach to achieving these results and this CDCF has been used as an opportunity to build consensus on what now needs to be done.

5.           I am therefore most grateful for the participation of all colleagues from the Royal Government who have participated in this Forum, and to the many officials who have worked tirelessly to support the analysis that has informed the recommendations made by Government in each of the sessions. I am also deeply indebted to our development partners, who have demonstrated a sincere commitment to supporting the development of Cambodia and who have participated in this meeting in a constructive and forward-looking manner. I acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that has taken place within the development partner community to negotiate statements that acknowledge progress while also identifying in good faith how we may move forward in our partnership to implement the NSDP and to achieve the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals. The financial commitments that have been made are generous and I once again provide reassurance that all resources for the development of this country – domestic and external – will be used in an accountable manner and to achieve maximum impact. I must also congratulate the members of civil society organisations who have participated in our meeting. Their interventions have been constructive and have represented the views of their constituents most ably. I am optimistic that this can be translated into a more constructive relationship in the future.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

6.           Finally I wish to convey my personal gratitude, and also the appreciation of all participants, to H.E. Chhieng Yanara and his staff at the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board, who have organised and facilitated this meeting in a highly professional manner. And of course the interpreters, who have ensured good communication – which is vital to an effective partnership – throughout our meeting.

7.           Please allow me to say that it has been an honour to chair this meeting of the Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum. It has become an excellent Forum for discussion, bringing us together to reflect and look forward on how we can cooperate to improve the lives of the Cambodian people. I look forward to continuing our dialogue at the GDCC, where we have set ourselves an ambitious but achievable agenda.

8.           I therefore thank each of you once again for participating in this Forum and I look forward to future opportunities to working with you. For those of you who have traveled to join us here in Phnom Penh for this CDCF meeting, please allow me to wish you a safe journey home. I anticipate that our next CDCF meeting will be held in the last quarter of 2011 and I hope to see all of you again then.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

9.           There will be a Press Conference in this room beginning shortly. Otherwise I believe we have concluded our business in a most satisfactory manner. I therefore have the pleasure to announce that our Third Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum is now formally closed.

THANK YOU