PHNOM PENH, DEC. 5, 2011– A top South Korean official told
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Sok An on Monday that Korea will provide
training for Cambodian civil servants in certain areas to assist Cambodia’s
civil administrative reform. South Korea is also looking to expand bilateral
cooperation in communication technology to facilitate the work of the Royal
Government of Cambodia.
Kim Nam-Seok, First Vice Minister of Public Administration and Security
of the Republic of Korea, said in the meeting that his delegation will seek to
assist Cambodia by providing training courses and other necessary support for
Cambodia’s civil servants to improve their public service delivery.
H.E. Dr. Sok An, who is also Minister in Charge of the Council of
Ministers, said that the Council for Administrative Reform (CAR) has been
implementing the government’s policy of improving delivery of public services
in order to contribute to social development and poverty reduction.
Dr. Sok An said that the CAR needs technical and capacity building
support from donors so that Cambodia
civil servants can better serve the public.
Vice Minister Kim and his party both talked with the leaders of the CAR
and discussed how to increase bilateral cooperation with officials in charge of
the National Information Communications Technology Development Authority
(NIDA).
South Korea hopes to send experts to train Cambodian officials in
certain areas, and some Cambodian officials could also be sent to the Republic
of Korea for training in IT and public service delivery.
H.E. Dr. Sok An was pleased with these pledges and encouraged further
discussion on how to assist the CAR and NIDA.
Dr. Sok An recalled that Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Prime
Minister Hun Sen said: “If we reform, we have a 99 percent chance of surviving;
if we do not, it is a 99 percent chance that we will die”.
Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen in 1998 championed the win-win policy
that brought defections from the Khmer Rouge and put an end to the latter's
political and military organisation, Dr. Sok An recalled.
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said that this is the first time that
Cambodia nation has been united after 500 years of domestic turmoil.
Both sides are also looking to increase bilateral cooperation in
agriculture, tourism, investment and aviation for the benefit of the two
peoples. There more than 500 companies, which have been successfully operating
in Cambodia, from South Korea.