Beijing – Cambodian NGOs and journalists were invited to China last week by the China
Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) for a discussion on sustainable
development in the Kingdom.
President
of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies Kung Phoak said they organized
the meeting with government officials, researchers, professors to exchange
ideas, raise concerns with one another and discuss China’s “One Belt, One Road”
initiative.
Mr. Phoak
hailed the event as a way for Cambodian NGOs and media outlets to have their
concerns heard by various Chinese stakeholders. The CFPD itself has helped
raise funds for businesses in low-income countries and has helped Cambodia in
the education and health sectors.
“The One
Belt, One Road is a big initiative. It is a step to exchange ideas with each
other,” Mr. Phoak said, adding that it was imperative China understood what
Cambodia thinks about the initiative and China’s larger role in the country’s
development.
“I think
what they [CFPD] want from this meeting is open and honest sentiments from
those NGOs, and what CFPD could do to help them in order to reduce poverty [in
Cambodia],” he said.
The
information gathered would be disseminated to government officials in both
countries, he said.
Executive
Director of Development and Partnership in Action Mam Sambath said, “It is a
visit which opened and provided connections between people for people to
understand each other. It also showed that China is willing to listen to our
Independent NGOs and journalists.”
He added
that Cambodian NGOs and journalists speak directly to Cambodian citizens and
have a better understanding of the country’s needs than most, making their
knowledge and information vital to Chinese companies and NGOs trying to help
the country.
“They
listened to us carefully and provided opportunities for us to ask or comment on
development [initiatives] with honesty, in order to improve the relationship
between people from both countries as well as current Chinese investors in
Cambodia,” Mr. Sambath said.
One of
the main things mentioned was the difficulty both journalists and members of
NGOs had with contacting Chinese companies or investors, especially when it
came to conflicts within garment factories, he said.
Ven
Rathavong
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