Aid and development

On 28 June, the Cambodian National Council for Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Environment launched the implementation of the National Strategic Plan and Action Plan for a circular economy with financial support from Sweden, Japan, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The strategy includes ...

Japan has launched a $10 billion fund to promote clean energy in Southeast Asia, amid growing signs that the world’s third-largest economy is shifting away from the investments in coal-fired power generation still heavily promoted by its key strategic rival for regional influence – China. The Asia ...

General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and State President Thongloun Sisoulith’s selection of Vietnam for his first overseas trip after taking office demonstrates the importance that Laos attaches to the great friendship, special solidary and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. The ...

In his second visit within 9 months, the Foreign Secretary has met counterpart Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Minister Bui Thanh Son, to discuss the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership Agreement, in addition to subjects such as the global health security, climate change and Myanmar. The visit ...

NORWAY and Vietnam have agreed to work closer together on the development of industrial scale aquaculture. The two countries, both major fish farming nations, took part in a special webinar at the weekend. Norway is of course well known as the world’s largest salmon farmer, while ...

The UK and Thailand have jointly launched the “UK Thailand Tech Export Academy”.  The purpose of the collaboration is to promote the development of “smart cities” to be constructed across Thailand.  So far, the initiative has involved the matching of over 200 businesses from the ...

The U.N.’s special envoy on Myanmar met behind closed doors with Thailand’s leader Friday, trying to find solutions to the Burmese crisis, as ASEAN dithered on naming its emissary to the coup-ridden country, which has already blocked the proposed visit. Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations ...

WOB Timber, a logging company based in Hamburg, Germany, has been ordered by a court to pay a $4 million fine for illegally trading Myanmar timber. The April 27 decision was one of the highest financial penalties for this type of crime in the European ...

The Australian government on May 7 signed an agreement with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to contribute an additional A$4 million (US$3.15 million) to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on Cambodia’s economy and people, the UNDP said in a press release. The agreement took effect immediately, ...

Cambodia is well-prepared to minimise economic risks when it graduates from its Least Developed Countries status, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce on May 7. Four LDCs – Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh and Nepal – met at a virtual workshop last week to ...