AKP Phnom Penh, March 24, 2025 -- The 2025 Korea-Cambodia Bilateral Meeting have been convened to strengthen the development cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting, held at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC)’s headquarters in Phnom Penh on Mar. 24, was co-chaired by H.E. Chhieng Yanara, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Missions and CDC Second Vice-Chairman and H.E. Park Jung-Wook, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Cambodia.

H.E. Chhieng Yanara expressed deep appreciation for Korea’s continued contributions to Cambodia’s socio-economic development. He commended the long-standing cooperation between Republic of Korea and Cambodia, acknowledging Korea’s commitment to supporting Cambodia through various development projects and programmes.

The senior minister highlighted the elevation of bilateral relations to the level of a Strategic Partnership following Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet’s official visit to Korea in May 2024, which resulted in a doubling of South Korea’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) volume to Cambodia.

For his part, H.E. Park Jung-Wook expressed his gratitude for the Cambodian government's efforts to strengthen the bilateral relations between Korea and Cambodia. The ambassador also mentioned the increasing scale of South Korea's development cooperation with Cambodia and emphasised the expectation that by updating the Country Partnership Strategy in alignment with the policies of both countries, more effective and sustainable development assistance could be achieved in the future.

According to a press release of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Cambodia is the largest recipient of Korea’s ODA this year, ranked first among the 92 ODA partner countries. This year, the Government of Korea is expected to provide approximately US$315 million in support to Cambodia, focused on sectors such as education, water management, health and sanitation, transportation, and rural development.

Specifically, the source continued, the assistance will include 27 concessional loan projects, including the Korea-Cambodia Friendship Bridge construction project, and 62 grant aid projects, including the capacity-building project for the National Children’s Hospital.

Beyond development aid, economic engagement between the two countries remains strong, with approximately 200 Korean companies actively operating in Cambodia across sectors such as manufacturing, finance, construction, and real estate, it stated, adding that Cambodia is home to around 10,000 Korean residents, further fostering people-to-people exchanges.

The 2025 Korea-Cambodia Bilateral Meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both nations to strengthening their partnership and advancing mutual development goals. Both sides agreed to enhance future cooperation in areas such as human resource development, digital transformation, and sustainable development. This meeting further solidified Korea’s role as a key development partner for Cambodia, and both countries agreed to continue working together toward shared goals of prosperity and development.   

By C. Nika