On 28th October 2021, H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Royal Government of Cambodia, and H.E. Dr. Devyani Khobragade, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia, attended the inaugural ceremony of the two school buildings for children studying at Wat Porthisat Primary school, Kandal Province. This project was undertaken as a part of the Government of India’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) Scheme, under the framework of Mekong Ganga Cooperation. The event was also attended by the Principal, teachers, school children, and the media personnel.
The Government of India cooperates with the Royal Government of Cambodia on many grant assistance programmes that contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the people of Cambodia. Under QIP Scheme, the Government of India implements 10 projects every year in Cambodia by providing funding of up to USD 50,000 each per project. From 2015 to 2016, the Government of India has approved 39 projects in the fields of IT, agriculture, health, sanitation, women’s empowerment, child welfare, rural development, social infrastructure (including capacity building), environment, etc. Out of 39 projects, 21 projects have already been completed and the remaining 18 projects are at various stages of execution. These projects have received an overwhelming response and created a distinct and visible impact among the beneficiaries.
Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, thanked the Government of India and Embassy of India for providing grants for the construction of the school buildings that will benefit students and the teachers. Dr. Phavi stated that the relationship between Cambodia and India is centuries old and thanked the Government of India for these projects, assisting Cambodia in moving forward towards women’s empowerment and gender equality. Dr. Phavi also stated that the Royal Government of Cambodia gives high priority to education, training, and human resources development, which will accelerate the process of Cambodia’s vision of becoming a high-middle-income country by 2030. Dr. Phavi further stated that early childhood education is an important foundation for individual development. Dr. Phavi urged the teachers to contribute towards shifting education from traditional literacy to digital literacy. Dr. Phavi further stated that both countries will continue to cooperate and expand the scope of implementation of QIP.
H.E. Dr. Devyani Khobragade, Ambassador of India recalled the age-old bonds of friendship, linkages, shared culture & heritage, between India and Cambodia. Ambassador explained the various development initiatives of the Government of India, carried out in Cambodia, under various bilateral and multilateral frameworks, including under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation framework. Ambassador stated that this project will lead to improvement in academic performance, sanitation, and hygienic learning conditions for the students, higher students, and girls enrollment. India remains committed to gender equality and currently has taken steps to provide universal primary education as a basic right. India also focuses on Human Resource Development for its own people as well as of partners countries.
Ambassador stated that the inaugural ceremony of these buildings got added value since the Government of Cambodia has allowed reopening of the schools from 1st November 2021 onwards. Ambassador appreciated the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which is making all-around efforts to develop opportunities for women and girls, enabling them to participate in education and economy at all levels. Ambassador also expressed her gratitude to H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs for her personal attention and relentless support in the execution of the projects. Ambassador further stated that all these steps would lead to women’s empowerment in Cambodia.
The project would serve the communities residing in Tropang Veng commune, Kandal Stung district, and Kandal province. After this ceremony, H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs and Ambassador visited Kambol Primary school to review the progress of construction of 2 school buildings with 3 classrooms each for the students from Grade 1 to 6, undertaken through another 2 Quick Impact Projects. This project commenced in September 2020 and is expected to be completed by April 2022.
Source: India in Cambodia (Embassy of India, Phnom Penh)
