Labor Law

Presented by the Ministry of Commerce, Royal Government of Cambodia to the 6^th Consultative Group (CG) Meeting,
Government Palace, Phnom Penh, 19-21 June 2002

UNDP involvement in trade areas is framed within the broader context of economic and social development as highlighted in several UNDP projects: Project CMB/01/009: “Capacity Development for Poverty Monitoring and Analysis” – led by the MoP/CSD in partnership with SIDA and UNDP; TCAP programme - led by the MEF in partnership with IMF, AsDB and UNDP - linkages between poverty, economic reforms and growth; UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Programme on the Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction - policy dialogue and partnership at the regional level; Programme CMB/01/002: “ Strengthening Capacity in Aid Coordination and Development Cooperation Partnerships” – led by the CDC in partnership with UNDP - promote innovative development partnerships models, based on Cambodian leadership, ownership and accountability.

Capacity Building for Pro-poor Trade Reforms: FIRST IF Success Story: At its 29th meeting in Paris, in January 2002, the Inter-Agency Working Group for IF recognizing that the credibility of the Pilot Scheme depends on the effective follow-up to the diagnostic studies, encouraged “all multilateral agencies, including other providers of trade-related technical assistance to identify areas where they can contribute to trade capacity building process, as established by the IF diagnostic studies and resulting prioritized technical assistance matrices.” At a joint meeting of the IAWG and the OECD/DAC held in Paris in January 2002, donors pointed to the need for urgent follow-up of the diagnostic studies and the need for agencies to assist pilot countries to translate country action plans into concrete plans for funding. As a result the 30th IAWG and the IFSC have approved the First IF project resulting from the Diagnostic Study.

The project which will used $500,000 of fund earmarked by Japan to the IF UN Trust Fund, and UNDP funds, aims at pursuing three priority objectives: (i) to promote a broader national constituency on trade and poverty through a strategic and information-based partnership development approach; (ii) to enhance opportunities for effective allocation of ODA towards trade, through the strengthening of supply side responses in three product sectors namely: diversified agriculture and agro business, fresh water fisheries, and handicraft; (iii) to further elaborating on the links between poverty reduction/ human development and trade expansion.

The project is nationally executed with MoC designated as the Executing Agent, the ITC as project co-operating agent, and UNDP providing technical and financial support services to the MoC.

ITC's e-Trade Bridge and ITC's Trade Secrets: UNDP is also considering funding for ITC to launch the e-Trade Bridge program and the ITC’s Trade Secrets.

The World Bank has been proactively engaged with Cambodian national trade policymakers to determine the nature and extent of the trade-related technical assistance and capacity building needed in the country. Areas of support include development and dissemination of trade information tools, trade policy research, advocacy, capacity building for trade officials and private sector participants.

Development of the MoC Website: MoC has an operational website originally funded by JICA which is being revised and expanded with support from the World Bank. The objective is to provide a wealth of promotion, marketing, investments, law, and trade information. Trade policies, sector reports, the Diagnostic Study and other information pertinent to the implementation of the trade sector strategy, market intelligence to producers and exporters are also included. MoC also envisions using the site to post information pertinent to the implementation of the trade sector strategy, and monitoring of poverty outcomes once they become available. Sustainability of the work was ensured through an ongoing capacity building of 5 MoC counterparts who were assigned to work on a daily basis on various software used for web design and website upkeep. After the launch of the website, much positive feedback were received praising the comprehensiveness and the usefulness of the data available.

…I have just surfed the web site of MOC. My most sincere and warm congratulations for a great job! This openness and sharing of information is really a contribution to policy making in Cambodia. I hope other ministries will follow suit….

Francesco Goletti
Team Leader
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
ADB TA 3695-CAM
Agricultural Sector Development Program

Capacity Building for trade support and trade policy-making: The early days of the IF exercise were difficult, due to the novelty of the initiative and the embryonic effort to promote a broader national constituency on trade and poverty between the MoC as the leading government institution on trade reforms and other key trade stakeholders. Moreover Cambodia lacks a network of domestic specialists and resource persons knowledgeable in international trade rules and the management of international trade functions. The World Bank has been instrumental in providing support to the development and strengthening of ownership and partnership mechanisms to support the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of the Pro-Poor Trade Sector Strategy. Capacity building efforts took into consideration the very special human and institutional conditions of Cambodia, owing to the country’s level of development and its recent history. Concrete examples include training on international trade rules and the management of international trade functions, strengthening the capacity of Cambodia’s trade support and trade policy-making institutions.

Tools for Private Sector Support: Work is underway to complete a national and provincial resources data bank which is an user friendly multimedia resource for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Hyper linked texts and pictures cover human resources, educational, business, tourism and cultural, environmental, mineral and geological, infrastructure, transport, international trade, agricultural, investment, and mapping resources. The data will be put into a CDRom format and made available for key stakeholders in the trade and investment communities.

Publications of Khmer Trade Newsletters: MoC has mobilized researchers to contribute articles for its Khmer Trade Newsletter which is published quarterly. The readership is widespread, reinforcing MoC's belief in the strong interest of society as a whole to get engaged in some way in the trade and economic development process of the country in this era of globalization.

Development of the Legal Framework: At the heart of the development of a strong and vibrant private sector lies the need to put in place a sound commercial legislation framework. The World Bank has played a key role in the process and now results are forthcoming, with the recent passage of the Law on Marks, Trade names and Acts of Unfair Competition by the Parliament in January, 2002, and the adoption of the draft Business Enterprise Law by the Council of Ministers in April, 2002. The draft Commercial Arbitration Law is next on the agenda.

Translation and publication of the Trade Diagnostic Report: "Cambodia: Integration and Competitiveness Study" - English and Khmer version: The Diagnostic Study when translated into Khmer will find a wider audience among the Cambodian stakeholders.

Conference on Globalization: A Conference on "Globalization: Business and Law" was held last June 2001 providing the first real opportunity for stakeholders’ debate on opportunities and challenges facing Cambodia in process of joining the WTO. The conference proceedings was published and widely circulated in English and in Khmer.

Support for WTO accession: Publication of Results of the Uruguay Rounds in Khmer: MoC has undertaken the translation and publication of the Results of the Uruguay Rounds into Khmer. In the near term the document will be extremely useful for WTO team members who are not well versed in the WTO Agreements and its trade jargon. In the medium term, MoC can use the materials to further reinforce the capacity of the WTO Think Tank and the Cambodian private sector, and to foster deeper appreciation of WTO rules and obligations. Eventually these legal texts will need to be submitted and ratified by the Parliament as part of a constitutional requirement, prior to Cambodia becoming a full fledged member of the WTO.

Trade policy matrix for the PRSP: The World Bank has also provided technical support in the development of a draft policy matrix for inclusion in the full PRSP to advance the trade sector strategy as a tool to alleviate poverty. The matrix was widely circulated and discussed at the recent National Workshop on PRSP.

Stakeholders Awareness Workshop: "Trade Mainstreaming: Making Trade Works for the Poor." MoC is scheduled to hold over the coming few months a series of inter-ministerial workshops/seminars to raise overall appreciation of trade liberalization efforts and their poverty impact.

The Mekong Project Development Facility (MPDF) is a multi-donor funded initiative managed by the SME Department of the World Bank Group. Its objective is to promote the development of locally-owned small and medium sized enterprises in Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR. In Cambodia, MPDF's interventions focus on the meso and micro level, in order to develop the competitive advantages of Cambodian enterprises.

Meso level: Human Capital/Entrepreneurial know how. MPDF has launched a series of 12 affordable self-study work books for entrepreneurs to learn, at their own speed, about marketing and human resources. Another 20 titles will be available over the next year in production, book-keeping and management skills. This material is will be converted into teaching material to be delivered in modular form by MPDF's partner training institutions in Cambodia.

Business Associations. MPDF has assisted in the development of a number of business associations including the rice millers and the hotel and guest house owners in Siem Reap. Others will be supported, as the functioning of cohesive and representative associations provides an effective mechanism for information sharing and skills development for its members.

Finance for SMEs. MPDF has provided multi-bank training to staff of all members of the Association of Banks of Cambodia, and has also provided training to individual banks. More intensive technical assistance has and will continue to be provided to individual banks. The objective is to improve the service that the private banks provide for Cambodian SMEs. MPDF is also working with some micro-finance projects to assist them convert to sustainable MFIs.

Trade Promotion. A handbook on trade finance for SMEs will be produced. Relevant bank staffs have already received some training in trade finance and more is planned. MPDF has started to work with the tourism industry to improve its awareness and use of e-commerce. In time, MPDF may work with certification agencies to broaden the acceptance and implementation of certification processes.

Micro level: MPDF has and will continue to provide technical assistance to a wide range of SMEs in Cambodia. This TA includes assisting with market access, improving quality processes and products, assistance in raising finance, amongst others. MPDF works with SMEs across sectors and for example is currently working with a number of export-oriented agro-processing businesses, handicraft producers and companies in the tourism sector.

Integrated Trade Facilitation Initiative: A proposal put forward by the World Bank is to review import and export processes with a view to consolidating procedures, eliminating duplication, streamlining and simplification, and reducing “bureaucratic costs” (Customs and Excise, Ministry of Commerce-Camcontrol, CDC, etc.) resulting in increased revenue collection, and more efficient trade operations). In light of the revenue implications, implementation of the Customs automated system should receive top priority. The project will seek to develop an integrated information technology strategy (master plan) and related systems for import and export processing with the participation of government agencies, service providers (brokers, freight forwarders port authorities etc.), and private sector “clients” (importers exporters). Review of tariff policy and administration should be made taking into account the PRGF Tariff restructuring, AFTA/CEPT commitments, and WTO tariff offers. On WTO accession, customs implications-valuation, origin, appeal rights, etc. will also be looked at. The project proposal needs to be synchronized with UNCTAD’s port management project proposal. Funding is not yet secured on this project.

In general the technical assistance provided to Cambodia by the WTO as been aimed at human and institutional capacity-building for better understanding of and participation in the multilateral trading system. More specifically in the area of accession, the WTO Secretariat has been very efficient and proactive in the provision of technical support for Cambodia’s Working Party meetings. In the IF "mainstreaming" process, Cambodia has benefited from the advice of the WTO trade policy review team and the dynamic support from the IF team.

Trade Policy Courses: Cambodia has benefited every year from both the WTO three-week Short Trade Policy Course and the three month Trade Policy Courses specifically for participants from LDCs in Geneva.

National Seminars: National seminars have also been organized by WTO to provide Cambodian officials an overview of the multilateral trading system and to disseminate information on the functioning, basic rules and principles of the WTO and its Agreements. Cambodian officials and private sector participants have regularly participated in specialized regional seminars focusing in depth on specific WTO Agreements and provisions, such as customs valuation, market access, trade and environment, TRIPS, and agriculture (mandated negotiations).

Technical Missions: WTO has provided several technical missions to assist Cambodia in WTO accession.

Establishing modern data processing facilities ("WTO Reference Centre"): As Cambodia gears up for its accession to the WTO all trade-sector stakeholders within and outside government need to have access to up-to-date information about the WTO and other trade specific references materials which are sparse and poorly disseminated in Cambodia for the most part. With support from the WTO Secretariat, the MoC has established a "WTO Reference Centre" with modern data processing facilities and better communication and information technology, including Internet links. The Center is being renovated and expanded to house extensive trade specific references obtained from various sources including the ADB, ESCAP, IMF, ITC, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, and WTO materials. Other training materials and conference/workshop proceedings are also available. Once completed the Center will be open to the public.

Other active contributions in capacity building efforts [By Agencies and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bilateral Donors]:

Access to Legal Resources: As part of its regional outreach program the ABD has just launched the DIAL "Development of the Internet for Asian Law" Research Station Project at the MoC. The DIAL project, which aims to make it easier to find and use legislation-related material from the Internet, will complement and mutually support the ongoing and future initiatives of the Government in the development of the legal framework and the free exchange of information available in the WTO Reference Center. The use of the research station is free, open, and accessible to legislative draftspersons, law and policy reform personnel and the public.

SME sector sub-strategy: The IF Diagnostic Study on Cambodia competitiveness and Integration refers extensively to the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ADB has expressed its support for conducting an SME sector study as a follow up of the diagnostic studies.

Improving Legal Infrastructure in the Financial Sector: After the adoption of the Financial Sector Blueprint for 2001-2010 in August 2001 with ADB technical assistance, MoC has obtained technical assistance to improve the legal infrastructure in the financial sector. Activities will aim at developing the key legal infrastructure that underpins financial and commercial activities such as a secured transactions system, legal basis for money markets, government bond law, and e-commerce transactions law. The project will start in the later part of 2002 and fits well in the development scheme for supporting SME.

WTO accession and trade facilitation sector: As a regional development partner in the IF process, ESCAP has assisted Cambodia in the area of WTO accession, regional trade facilitation and sectoral needs assessment missions in particular for the fisheries sector. ESCAP in tandem with ADB and MoC has hosted a four days Subregional Workshop on Facilitating Trade in Indo-China Countries in June 2001 with participants from GMS countries (Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam) who exchanged ideas on subregional cooperation on trade facilitation. They agreed on the important role that trade facilitation measures can play in invigorating trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). In this regard, the sub-regional workshop called for urgent action to improve trade facilitation both nationally and regionally and it was agreed that a holistic approach is needed to address the wide range of trade facilitation issues that are inhibiting trade flows. Cambodia also seeks assistance from ESCAP to develop an Electronic Data Interchange and other electronic commerce systems to improve the processing of trade related documents.

Familiarization with the Bangkok Agreement: Cambodia is considering the opportunity to accede to the Bangkok Agreement now that China has joined the grouping. ESCAP has done a preliminary market analysis which has shown that Cambodia’s export structure is highly complementary to major BA markets and as such there are great export opportunities for Cambodia in the BA region, in particular the huge markets of China, India, and the Republic of Korea. Such a finding was presented by ESCAP to Cambodia at a familiarization workshop to key Cambodian policy makers. Technical sessions will follow over the next several months.

New Technical assistance will be provided to Cambodia in the next several months and include (1) Poverty Alleviation and Social Integration, (2) trade facilitation and e-commerce, and (3) trade policy and trade promotion.

Familiarization of International Trade Law: UNCITRAL has conducted a workshop to for key Cambodian ministries and private sector participants on the various international trade laws such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980), the United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-By Letters of Credit, the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Credit Transfers and the draft United Nations Convention on Assignment of Receivables in International Trade, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures, the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985); the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (1976) and UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules (1980); Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958); the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services, with Guide to Enactment (1994); the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects (2001); and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-border Insolvency and the draft legislative guide

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Capacity Building: Cambodian agricultural production has a relatively high incidence of pests and diseases. This constrains economic and social development, with significant direct impacts on the poor. However, Cambodia’s efforts are constrained by significant limitations on regional Sanitary and PhytoSanitary (SPS) capacities. Improvements in SPS capacities are capable of making a major contribution over time to the alleviation of poverty, and the maintenance of food security. National laws and regulations do not always fully support SPS-related organisations. National quarantine (and pest and disease management) policy is sometimes not fully effective, and inter-agency coordination is sometimes inadequate. One important factor is lack of knowledge in Cambodia of its specific quarantine relevant situation (i.e. the prevalence of specific pests, weeds and diseases in individual crops and/or agricultural products). In some cases, there is also an incomplete understanding of current international rights and obligations on quarantine under the WTO.

Australia intents to use a regional initiative, ASEAN-Australia Sanitary and Phytosanitary Capacity Building Program, to contribute to overcoming these constraints through a targeted program of building institutional capacities over the next four years in ASEAN countries, including Cambodia. Key areas of capacity building include:

International Standards and Technical Regulations: Cambodia does not have the capacity to deal with international standards, requirements and technical regulations which are essential for trade and for producers/consumers. Without capacity to deal with them, they become a real obstacle to Cambodia exports and thereby to production and investment. For that purpose, Austria has confirmed a contribution to UNIDO of up to EUR 600.000 to build trade-related supply capacities in Cambodia. This fund will enable Cambodia to establish essential quality and conformity assessment infrastructure (standards, metrology, certification, accreditation) as well as assist high export-potential sectors to upgrade product/ production quality, and comply with standards and regulations for exports.

APEC/WTO Capacity Building Initiative: CIDA’s APEC Economic Integration Program which was originally aimed at four APEC developing economies in Southeast Asia, i.e. Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam. CIDA is considering adding Cambodia and Lao into the program.

The Government of Canada has also expressed its support in the area of private sector development.

Trade Sector Development: The Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Cambodia has been finalized and covers the period 2000-2003. In addition to a 5 year strategy, the EC is currently finalizing a rolling 3-year Indicative National Programme (2002-2004) where a contribution of € 2 million is foreseen. Possible priority areas for EU assistance are: institutional capacity building, trade facilitation/customs procedures and other procedures to make full use of the EBA initiative. Assistance may also be required for helping Cambodia diversify its exports in areas such as agriculture and fishery products, as well as in relation to food quality control projects.

Further assistance is needed, in particular, for human resource development in the MoC and other authorities involved in international trade. The Institutional Support Programme already under preparation will provide TA to the MoC and the TA should, in addition to other tasks, assess the need for additional EC support to assist Cambodia to enhance its capacity.

WTO Accession: Another major specific objective of the EU intervention is to assist Cambodia in preparing for accession to the WTO. On a more detailed level the objectives are:

· to assist Cambodia to improve and build basic conditions for a sustained and stable economic growth and determine the areas of the national economy that should be liberalized at a slower pace in the accession negotiations;

· to assist Cambodia in preparing the necessary documents required for accession to the WTO, with particular emphasis on the drafting of the agriculture support tables;

· to increase knowledge among Cambodian officials about international trade policy and the WTO via appropriate economic and legal training and on international negotiations;

· to improve the legal and regulatory framework and the administrative capacities to ensure compliance with WTO requirements; and

IPR/SPS/TBT: At the regional level the EC foresees an additional € 1 million for actions that would allow Cambodia’s integration 1) into the EC/ASEAN IPR programme which aims to achieve further economic co-operation by upgrading the ASEAN intellectual property rights systems, and 2) in the EC/ASEAN standards programme that aims at the development of technical regulations and standards, conformity assessment procedures and quality structures and practices compatible with EU ones.

IF familiarization Missions: Throughout the entire IF process Cambodia has greatly benefited from the financial support of the Government of France which enabled Cambodian participation in various regional and international forums on trade and development.

IPR protection (Geographical Indications and Border Measures): The Government of France has provided technical assistance in the development of a system of geographical indications, a specialized field of intellectual property, including the drafting of a legislation and implementing regulations in line with the TRIPS Agreement. In this area Cambodia has good potential to develop its own geographical names, along with other collective names as provided under the recently enacted Trademark law. Moreover technical assistance was also extended by the French Customs in the strengthening of border measures for the control of cross border counterfeited goods.

Legal Framework for Small Trade Guilds: Through the Koblenz Chamber of Trade and Skilled Crafts, MoC has received technical support to prepare a draft legislation to govern small trade guilds.

Promotion of SME Term Lending Pilot Project: The goal of the pilot project is the development of commercial banking sector in SME term-lending as part the financial system development. KfW will provide a grant of € 3 million to the Government for on-lending to SMEs.

Resident Commercial Advisor at MoC: Since 1998 JICA has dispatched a Resident Commercial Advisor to the Export Promotion Department of MoC.

Master Plan Study for improvement of the marketing system and post-harvest quality control of rice: Despite the surplus of rice production in recent years, there still remains many issues to be overcome in rice quantity and quality in Cambodia as a result of poor distribution system and inadequate post-harvest practices. Japan has provided a massive technical team to assist Cambodia conduct a Master Plan Study for improvement of the marketing system and post-harvest quality control of rice taking into account also the need for strengthening national food security. Moreover capacity building and transfer technologies were imparted to Cambodian counterpart personnel through on-the-job training in the course of the Study. The Master Plan Study focused on the fields of marketing system and post-harvest quality control of rice in 10 provinces. Major findings from the study were used in the analysis of the IF diagnostic studies.

Regional Development Master Plan of the Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville Corridor: Cambodia has received Japanese assistance in conducting a Regional Development Master Plan with a focus on encouraging industrial development along the Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville corridor in close relationship with Sihanoukville Export Processing Zone (EPZ). This Study will include a feasibility study on the said EPZ, and comparative analysis of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and industrial development in the neighboring countries.

Trade Policy and Agriculture Sector Analysis: Cambodia has just completed its second Working Party meeting at which time the first plurilateral meeting on agriculture was held. Cambodia’s domestic support and export subsidy tables were discussed at that meeting. Several questions have also been raised on Cambodia’s agricultural policies. In order to complete accession requirements as they relate to the Agreement on Agriculture, Cambodia must complete two processes: the multilateral dialogue on its agricultural policies, and the bilateral market access negotiations. The Government of New Zealand has provided technical assistance in the area of trade policy analysis and in particular on key implications of the Agreement on Agriculture on Cambodia. This support was timely and enabled the Cambodian key negotiators to better understand the Agreement – technical explanations about the rules and commitments; how to determine whether Cambodia’s agriculture policies are in conformity - and specific commitments as they prepare themselves for bilateral market access negotiations and the formal plurilateral meeting on Agriculture.

Trade Negotiations Tools: The Government of New Zealand has also contributed to the overall effort to build capacity among the key WTO trade negotiators by providing funding for the translation into Khmer and publishing of the "ABC of Trade Policy: Compendium of Trade Terminology". The initiative complements two other initiatives funded by UNCTAD and the World Bank, namely the "Business Guide to the World Trading System", the "Tools for Multilateral Trade Negotiations on Agriculture," the "Tools for Multilateral Trade Negotiations on Trade in Services," and the “Results of the Uruguay Rounds: Legal Texts.”

As part of the Initiatives for ASEAN Integration (IAI) - Trade Training Program, the Government of Singapore has been conducting and continues to conduct a series of trainings for Cambodian key economic officials in the area of trade development, trade policy analysis, export promotion, and trade facilitation.

Trade negotiations and other WTO accession related capacity building were provided by the Government of Thailand to Cambodia during its preparation for the first and second Working Party meetings.

Stakeholders consultation on the issue of trade liberalization and poverty reduction have been ongoing since Cambodia first initiated its Pro-Poor Trade Sector Strategy. The debates go on with the recent development of the Trade Policy Matrix for inclusion into the PRSP. MoC intents to hold a national stakeholders’ workshop focusing on finding ways to make trade work for the poor. MoC also intents to draw and capitalize on the outcomes of various research on the subject, including DFID’s recent publication entitled “Trade Liberalization and Poverty Reduction: A Handbook” the translation of which will be supported by the Government of UK. Other materials used are the Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair publication and Cambodia trade policies.

The MoC will organize a national workshop in Phnom Penh with key stakeholders to wrap up the trade policy matrix discussions. The workshop process should bring to closure on the issue and enable MoC to work with CSD to complete the “mainstreaming process” of the trade sector strategy into the PRSP.

On the WTO accession side there will be a strong push to get the key trade negotiators readied for the third Working Party meeting in July or August. Bilateral negotiations will also be held some in Phnom Penh and some others in Geneva.

With the Project on Capacity Building for Pro-poor Trade Reforms up and running the MoC will over a period of one year strive to consolidate earlier achievements of the IF, in particular to continue promoting a national constituency on trade and poverty through a strategic and information-based partnership development approach and to enhance opportunities for effective allocation of ODA towards trade, through the strengthening of supply side responses. With the UNDP team and civil society organizations the MoC will further elaborate on the links between poverty reduction/ human development and trade expansion.

The MoC will continue broad consultations with additional donors who have shown interest in supporting the IF process, in particular the US and Nordic countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

With the business sectors the MoC will deepen further the process of consultation and dialogue aimed at fine tuning a truly stakeholder-owned plan of action for the trade sector in light of the global economic and political development.

Cambodia is a success story in the "IF" Pilot Scheme. Cambodia has a historic opportunity to play a larger role in the global arena by sharing Cambodia's success stories to the rest of the world. This success does not come without risks. So much has happened since Cambodia selection as a Pilot Country Scheme, in terms of process, in terms of policy reforms, in terms of expectations from stakeholders, in terms of maintaining momentum.

When an article appearing in the World Economy Journal highlighted Cambodia as a case study, the eyes of the world were focused on Cambodia. The efforts expended to ensure that Cambodia succeeds as an IF pilot country are indeed heavy, but not compared to the pressure to remain there. Cambodia can only go but so far on its own. Donor support will help us overcome the many challenges that lie ahead of us and ultimately help us achieve the Millennium Development Goals with “great honors”.



	IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK “IF” IN CAMBODIA

IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK “IF” IN CAMBODIA

IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK
“IF” IN CAMBODIA