Reliance on International Donors Decried

A visiting senior official of the Asian Development Bank on Tuesday warned Cambodia that to develop economically it must attract more private investment and not rely so heavily on donor money, according to bank officials  and the National Assembly.

Yoshihiro Iwasaki, director of ADB’s regional department covering 12 countries in the Mekong River region and South Asia, told National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh that Cambodia has relied too heavily on donors’ official development assistance.

“You can’t rely on ODA for long because donors have their own budget restraints and cannot continuously provide so much money like $470 million last year,” Urooj Malik, ADB’s country representative, quoted Iwa­saki as saying during the meeting. “You need to increase private capital investment.”

He noted that Cambodia needs to achieve and maintain a 7-8 percent economic growth in GDP (gross domestic product) in order to alleviate poverty.

Iwasaki suggested that the government focus on rural development, strengthen its commercial banking system and encourage private investment in order to achieve the high economic growth.

He encouraged Cambodia to develop its banking system to mobilize private capital and improve security.

 

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