The World Bank is continuing its year-long consultation discussions with public and private stakeholders for the new 2025-2029 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Cambodia, a lending and advisory program devised by the financial institution to help nations with key development issues.
Following discussions on Tuesday among the World Bank Group, an updated “gender action plan” was added to the framework, addressing gender gaps in secondary education and promoting better data collection, the latest edition from a consultation process that began in May 2023.
The talks also centered on designing a CPF aimed at building accountability into service delivery projects, enhancing public sector fiduciary standards, and continuing to provide oversight and advice on grievance redress mechanisms, according to a World Bank press release.
Cambodia’s CPF for 2025-2029, which is updated every five years following an analysis of the country’s development challenges and consultations with the government and various stakeholders, seeks to address three interlinked goals: improving health and basic education, enhancing competitiveness, and strengthening the resilience of vulnerable households.
“A key focus of our engagement is to improve human capital, especially basic education and foundational skills,” said Mariam Sherman, the World Bank Country Director for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, in the press release.
Over the next five years, three arms of the World Bank Group—the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)—will “encourage investment in Cambodia” and “promote public-private partnerships, especially in infrastructure.”
The lending component for this round of Cambodia’s CFP has not yet been disclosed, but three branches of the World Bank mobilized over $500 million in loans and grants for various projects under Cambodia’s CFP from 2019 to 2023.
“The World Bank has always been a good partner of Cambodia and will continue to be a good partner in the future,” affirmed Pen Bona, a spokesperson for the Cambodian government, when speaking about the recent CPF consultation proceedings.
Bona stated that the establishment of the framework highlights the alignment between the World Bank’s vision for policy direction in Cambodia and the government’s flagship development program, the Pentagonal Strategy, introduced last year.
“We hope this partnership will continue to help develop Cambodia faster and achieve the vision to become a high-income country by 2050,” said Bona.
Meas Soksensan, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, expressed that the Cambodian side welcomes the cooperation from all international partners involved in drafting the framework, viewing it as a positive sign for the country’s development.
As noted by Soksensan, the World Bank plays a crucial role in assisting Cambodia with financing while also supporting and encouraging private sector investment.
“The World Bank plays a pivotal role in the financing framework, no matter how small or large the funds, we continue to work together,” said Soksensan. “At the same time, the World Bank is also helping court foreign direct investment to Cambodia.”