The event brought together 100 representatives from various relevant ministries, private sectors, civil societies, academia, national research institutions and development partners.
To ensure that the PAGE support in Cambodia is fully aligned with existing strategies and programmes, PAGE has engaged the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) to conduct a scoping study. The CDRI is a national research intuition well known for its independent, objective, and high-quality policy-relevant development research. The findings of the study will play a crucial role in informing and guiding the PAGE programme’s implementation in Cambodia over the coming years.
Furthermore, the implementation of PAGE in Cambodia will be articulated to contribute to the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).
“This alignment between PAGE and the UNSDCF will reinforce the contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Cambodia and to create more sustainable and resilient economic growth for the country.”, said Narin Sok, UNIDO representative in Cambodia.
Over the past twenty years pre-pandemic, Cambodia has experienced remarkable economic growth with annual rate of 7 percent. Cambodia made significant progress and became a lower-middle-income country in 2015. The country has been an early adopter of green economy principles, as demonstrated by the National Strategic Plan on Green Growth 2013-2030.
In 2021, Cambodia submitted its Long-term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN) to the UNFCCC, making it the third least developed country to do so and reaffirming its commitment to achieving a carbon neutral economy by 2050.
Through the PAGE project the Royal Government of Cambodia aims to capitalize on its impressive growth rate over the past two decades, putting it on a sustainable footing through economic, social and environmental “win-win” opportunities.
“We are here to support you in making your macroeconomic policies more conducive and the whole of finance coming behind the policies for sustainability (…)”, indicated Asad Naqvi, head of the PAGE Secretariat in a video address.
Cambodia officially joined the partnership in June 2022. This partnership will span over five years, including a one-year inception phase that will be concluded by mid-2023.
UNITAR acts as the main coordinating agency for the PAGE project in Cambodia. The main Government counterpart is the Department for Green Economy at the Ministry of Environment, in its capacity as the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development.
The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) has grown into a prominent alliance of five UN agencies, 8 funding partners, and 22 partner countries that work together to transform economies into drivers of sustainability by supporting nations and regions in reframing economic policies and practices around sustainability.
