Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, undersecretary-general of the UN and executive secretary of UN-ESCAP, during her January 22 meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet as part of her third visit to Cambodia. STPM
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) has pledged continued cooperation with Cambodia in promoting socio-economic development and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, undersecretary-general of the UN and executive secretary of UN-ESCAP, made the pledge during her January 22 meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet as part of her third visit to Cambodia.
During the meeting, Alisjahbana briefed Manet on UN-ESCAP’s four priority areas: Supporting people based on the principle of leaving no one behind and environment protection; investment and trade facilitation through fostering connections among UN-ESCAP members; building up and strengthening the digital capacity of the people; and financial support to contribute to the accomplishment of the SDGs.
Manet praised UN-ESCAP’s significant contributions to the Kingdom’s development in various sectors, and offered his appreciation for the UN regional commission’s commitment to continued cooperation with the Cambodian government.
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He noted that UN-ESCAP’s four priority areas aligned with phase one of his government’s Pentagonal Strategy, which focuses on improving people’s livelihoods, building resilience and sustainable growth towards achieving high-income country status by 2050.
On the same day, Alisjahbana also met with former Prime Minister Hun Sen, now president of the Supreme Privy Council to the King.
During their meeting, Hun Sen updated Alisjahbana on Cambodia’s current priorities, saying the Kingdom still prioritises the protection of peace and a strong focus on socio-economic development, according to the former’s social media post following the meeting.
They also discussed the “flourishing” relationship between the Kingdom and UN-ESCAP.
“The future goals of Cambodia are two-fold. First, Cambodia must continue to maintain peace, political stability, economic growth and development. Second, Cambodia has a particular focus on socio-economic development, in order to ensure sustainable development and to ease the livelihoods of its people,” Hun Sen was quoted as saying.
He added that Cambodia’s economy is gradually recovering in the post-pandemic era.
Alisjahbana was cited as praising the development she has witnessed since her first visit to the Kingdom in 2019.
She expressed hope that the flourishing relationship between Cambodia and UN-ESCAP would continue to grow.
