APO releases Cambodia National Productivity Master Plan document

The master plan recommends strategic actions for driving Cambodia�s growth strategy, enabling it to achieve upper middle-income country status by 2030.

 

PHNOM PENH/TOKYO - Media OutReach - 14 December 2018 - The
Asian Productivity Organization
(APO) announced the release of the Cambodia National Productivity Master Plan
2020–2030. The draft document and recommendations were handed to Cambodia’s Senior
Minister of Industry and Handicraft Kitti Setha Pandita Cham Prasidh by APO
Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn in Phnom Penh, 13 December 2018.

APO Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn handing over the draft National Productivity Master Plan 2020-2030 to Cambodia’s Senior Minister of Industry and Handicraft Kitti Setha Pandita Cham Prasidh.

 

Cambodia has enjoyed strong economic growth averaging 7% per annum over
the last 25 years, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
That allowed the country to graduate from a low-income to a lower middle-income
economy, as defined by the World Bank, in 2016. However, for Cambodia to
sustain economic growth, raise per capita income, reduce poverty, and achieve
the upper middle-income country goal, it must shift toward an economy driven by
productivity.

 

The APO initiative to assist the Royal Government of Cambodia in
developing the National Productivity Master Plan is aimed at achieving average
annual productivity growth of 5.2% during 2020-2030. Besides the quantitative
target, the document includes five qualitative goals as part of the Cambodia
Productivity 2030 Vision and defines strategic areas to achieve the five goals
and 2030 objectives.

 

“We hope that the proposed Cambodia
National Productivity Master Plan 2020-2030 will serve as a comprehensive plan
for the country to embark on a productivity-driven growth strategy. The time frame
of 2020-2030 was adopted to align the master plan with the government’s aim of
making Cambodia an upper middle-income country by 2030,” the APO
Secretary-General said while handing over the document to the minister.

 

In
accepting the document, Senior Minister Prasidh thanked the
APO for leading the initiative for the development of the Cambodia National
Productivity Master Plan 2020-2030. “This is the most significant policy
document that Cambodia has ever received from its development partner,” he said,
adding that it was a very big contribution of the APO toward the development of
the country. The minister said that the government would aim for adoption and
implementation of the plan in mid-2019.

 

The master plan for Cambodia is intended to boost the country’s productivity
by improving the policy framework, ensuring optimal mechanisms for the national
productivity movement, and aligning efforts with long-term development goals. The
consultancy project was executed under the Specific National Program (SNP) of
the APO and conducted in collaboration with the National Productivity Centre of
Cambodia over a three-month period.

 

The SNP is designed
to drive the national productivity movements of member countries by helping
them improve regulatory and policy frameworks in areas related to productivity
enhancement. Under the program, the APO provides customized technical and
consultancy services to national productivity organizations or their partners for
implementing projects that can address the specific needs and expectations of
member countries to enhance productivity and competitiveness. It also supports
member countries in advancing national productivity agendas and implementing
key interventions to achieve productivity goals aligned with the APO Vision
2020 objectives.