1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and other government agencies, will hold the 3rd Korea-Cambodia Integrated ODA Policy Dialogue in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on December 14. (head of the ROK delegation: Director-General for Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry Jeong Jin-kyu, head of the Cambodian delegation: Minister attached to the Prime Minister Chhieng Yanara)

※ The meeting will be attended by ten Korean officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, KOICA, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, as well as about 40 Cambodian officials from 18 government agencies, including the Council for the Development of Cambodia, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Ministry of Planning.

2. Cambodia is the country coordinator for ROK-ASEAN dialogue relations and the second-largest recipient of the ROK’s ODA. In the upcoming dialogue, to be held to mark the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the ROK and Cambodia, the ROK side will explore concrete measures to contribute to the implementation of the “New Southern Policy” by holding consultations on the accomplishments achieved so far through the ROK’s grants and concessional loans to Cambodia, as well as the way forward for further cooperation, and by discussing in depth the results of projects currently underway.

※ Cambodia, the second-largest recipient of the ROK’s ODA, received about US$600 million in ODA from the ROK from 1987 to 2016 (fourth-largest recipient of the ROK’s grants, fourth-largest recipient of the ROK’s concessional loans).

o The ROK government is planning to carry out 33 grant projects in 2018. KOICA is expected to help Cambodia nurture professionals, including through the project to build Cambodia’s civil aviation management capacity and establish a center for related education (2013-2018/US$10.10 million).

3. In the upcoming dialogue, the two sides will discuss their countries’ development cooperation policies, the current state of the ROK’s ODA provided to Cambodia in the form of grants or concessional loans and future plans, and the results of projects underway, and thereby explore ways to provide ODA to Cambodia in a more integrated, systematic and effective manner. They will also discuss how to strengthen development cooperation between the ROK and ASEAN, and between the ROK and the Mekong region.


* unofficial translation