Phnom Penh: 03 October 2012
- H.E. Yim Nolla, Senior Minister in charge of Special Missions and Chairman of Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC),
- H.E. Jean-François Cautain, Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Cambodia,
- Ms. Shigeko Hattori, Director of Public Management, Financial Sector and Trade Division, Southeast Asia Regional Department, ADB,
- Mr. Eric Sidgwick, Country Director, ADB Cambodia Resident Mission,
- Excellencies, Distinguished National and International Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the pleasure to be here at today’s closing ceremony of “The Launching Workshop on Regulatory Impact Assessment Project (RIA)”, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented by the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the Office of the Council of Ministers, in collaboration with four participating line ministries, namely Ministry of Industry Mines and Energy, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Tourism. On this occasion, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to ADB for providing support, in the form of grant, to the RIA project, which is the first project that ADB has worked directly with ECOSOCC. I also wish to congratulate ECOSOCC and RIA team on their great efforts in making this project operational. Today’s event reflects the progress and outcome of this pilot project.
This workshop has provided the opportunity for ministries, government institutions, donors and relevant stakeholders to better understand the RIA project and its essence in the regulation making process. Likewise, all stakeholders are well informed of the progress that the project has made so far, of the future activities to be implemented, and of challenges ahead to be addressed.
Today’s launching workshop is well organized for introducing RIA, with good sequences of presentations by speakers who have substantial experiences in the applications of RIA. The presentations are made by linking the concepts of RIA to real world applications. The experiences shared by Mr. Robert Kerr, Commissioner of the Victorian Gambling and Liquor Regulation Commission of Australia, and Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, Vice President of Central Institute for Economic Management of Vietnam, are of critical importance and value to Cambodia. Moreover, presentations by RIA officials on the preliminary assessment of their ministry-related regulations reflect the fruitful outcome of the training program of the project.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A proper legal framework is needed to effectively regulate the economy, society and human behavior. However, laws and regulations must be carefully developed in order to avoid unintended or distortionary effects such as restricting competition or imposing unnecessary onerous cost on those affected by the regulations.
Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly study and assess the possible impacts of law and regulations during the drafting process. In other words, costs and benefits of any particular law need to be analyzed and considered before it comes into effect. Nevertheless, any mechanisms or processes to make such systematic assessment or cost-and-benefit analysis do not exist in Cambodia yet. In this sense, the Royal Government of Cambodia, in collaboration with ADB, has set up RIA project since 2010 to build the capacity of the government officials from line ministries and concerned institutions to be able to undertake regulatory impact assessment. The ultimate goal is to gradually mainstream the RIA concepts and eventually establish RIA system in all ministries and other governmental institutions.
Institutionalizing RIA in Cambodia aims to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of regulations through an implementation of the principle of good practices in regulation making process. This project would certainly help to reach this goal since it will require all ministries to apply good practices in regulation making and assess the merits of all regulation proposals on their feasible impacts.
Presently, we are in the pilot phase of this project which accords importance to the capacity building of government officials from ECOSOCC and the four line ministries. The aim is to equip them with RIA concepts and applications as well as enable them to practice actual impact assessments of certain regulations in their respective ministries. At this stage, however, the focus is on regulations related to private sector which is integral to development policy in Cambodia.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Royal Government of Cambodia under the leadership of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has paid high attention to the socio-economic development as demonstrated in the Rectangular Strategy and the National Strategic Development Plan. In our endeavors to accomplish the development goals, the Royal Government considers private sector development as the driving engine of Cambodia’s economy. In this connection, the Royal Government continues to develop and pursue implementation of policies, legal and regulatory framework as well as procedures to protect the integrity of the private sector. In this respect, we firmly believe that this RIA project will promptly respond to the government’s commitment to making regulatory framework conducive to private sector development.
With the introduction of RIA, businesses could save their time and avoid unnecessary regulatory costs which could adversely affect their operations. In this regard, RIA will make our regulations efficient and effective and thus contribute to making our businesses more productive, thus enhancing their competitiveness.
Taking this opportunity, I wish to emphasize that, in order to make this project successful, all staff of RIA project should closely cooperate and make detailed, timely report on the preliminary assessment and RIA project for relevant decision makers. Commitment, capacity and close cooperation of all RIA officials are key to success of the project.
I strongly believe that the pilot project will be successful, and become an ongoing project by involving more line ministries in the near future. In view of its significance, I am convinced that ADB will continue to support this project for the sake of regulatory development and business facilitation.
Once again, I would like to express my congratulations to ECOSOCC in cooperation with ADB for organizing this important event. My thanks also go to all speakers who shared views and practical experiences related to this new project.
Finally, I wish Excellencies, Speakers, Distinguished National and International Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen a great success, good health and happiness in your families.
I declare the closing of this workshop.
Thank you