Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek said the Kingdom must maintain a long-term vision and accelerate its economic transformation to sustain its growth. Heng Chivoan
Huawei Technologies (Cambodia) Co Ltd on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to provide the Kingdom with the latest ICT equipment and a 5G technology training programme.
The agreement was signed by the ministry’s secretary of state Sok Puthyvuth and Huawei Cambodia CEO Yao Yuya. Presiding over the signing ceremony were Minister Tram Iv Tek and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian.
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Iv Tek noted that Cambodia has experienced strong and stable growth over the last two decades.
However, with the emergence of the digital economy and the onset of the fourth industrial revolution, the Kingdom must maintain a long-term vision and accelerate its economic transformation to sustain its growth, he said.
“The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has played an important role in supporting the government in achieving its strategic policy vision for a digital economy, as well as preparing for the fourth industrial revolution as outlined in the Rectangular Strategy Phase IV of the sixth mandate of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
“The products and services offered to the ministry today will be used to achieve maximum efficiency. I hope that cooperation between the ministry and Huawei will grow even stronger,” he said.
Yao said Huawei strives to be the world’s leading ICT supplier and fulfil its social responsibilities to Cambodia.
The firm, he said, has been actively engaged with the Cambodian government and has supported the Kingdom’s digital strategy and long-term vision for digital talent training.
“Based on the previous agreement between [Prime Minister] Hun Sen and the Huawei leadership, the firm is pleased to support the ministry by providing it with a data centre facility, video conference system, a piece of fibre-to-the-office equipment and Huawei laptops for central and provincial government offices.
“This year is an important year for Cambodia’s 5G and Huawei is delighted to be a part of its development,” said Yao.
Speaking at a national consultation workshop on Policy and Direction of Cambodia’s Digital Economy on March 12, Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said the Kingdom’s digital economy remains at a nascent stage and will need at least 10 years to grow and aim for a technology-driven economy.
He said Cambodia may need to spend the first five years to set all the fundamental elements in place and achieve digital readiness. It will then spend another five or 10 years growing its digital economy to a technology-driven economy.
“The countries that can benefit from the digital economy are those that have access to the digital world and in a timely fashion, adapt themselves to these changes.”
“In this regard, for a developing country like Cambodia, new technologies provide an opportunity to leapfrog, bypassing traditional phases of development,” he said.
Last year, the government set up a $5 million annual fund to promote digital start-ups and boost digital economy development.
The fund was announced at the Cambodia Outlook Conference 2019 on March 26, at which Hun Sen said it would drive long-term economic growth.
“Cambodia has experienced economic structural transformation – from a heavily agriculture-based economy to an industry- and service-based economy.
“To seize full benefits from the digital economy, Cambodia needs to put in more effort to promote strong and high economic growth for the long-term,” Hun Sen said.
Data from the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) shows that 20.8 million Sim cards were registered during the first half of last year, up 9.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.
Mobile and fixed internet users increased 31.6 per cent to 15.8 million during last year’s first six months – up from 12 million in the same period in 2018, the data shows.
