The 6th Training Programme on Public Policy and Governance for the civil servants of Cambodia, conducted by the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), was successfully wrapped up on Friday in New Delhi, India. The two-week programme was organised from Sept. 23 to October 4, 2024 in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and had participation of 39 senior and mid-level civil servants from Cambodia, representing the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovations. The participating officers hold positions such as Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Director, Under Secretary among others.
According to a press release of the Embassy of India in Phnom Penh, the valedictory session was chaired by Shri V Srinivas, Director General, NCGG and Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India. In his valedictory address, he emphasised the importance of long-standing collaboration betwee
n India and Cambodia and discussed how the challenges faced by both the nations are common and developments in the area of science and technology, infrastructure development and the vision for development envisaged by both the nations is also similar.
Highlighting the impact of transformative initiatives like Aadhaar, which have revolutionised subsidy transfer, he reflected on India’s vision for inclusive governance and prioritising governance reforms, which focus on digital transformation for better service delivery so as to bring citizens closer to government.
Shri V Srinivas outlined that the goal is to create digitally empowered citizens and technologically transformed institutions and consequently the nation. He also encouraged the officers to try and replicate the best practices learnt here especially for increasing infrastructure growth, building digital platforms like PM Gati Shakti for which both nations are committed to helping each other through bilateral cooperation.
The participating officer
s gave three very elaborate and insightful presentations on ‘Review of National Science Policy for Cambodia’, ‘Rationalising Expenditure Plan for Infrastructure and Growth’, and ‘Governance Reforms in Cambodia and Digital Transformation’ showcasing the knowledge and learnings gained during the programme.
Mr. Ith Hunly, Deputy Director, Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovations, and Head of Cambodia’s delegation, shed light on the historical and cultural relations between the two nations. He expressed gratitude to the Indian government for organising a comprehensive programme.
He acknowledged that the learning’s from the sessions were very useful and would help participants implement good governance practices in Cambodia. He urged that such meaningful and comprehensive programmes should be regularly organised for more officers as the experience gained was excellent.
Dr. B S Bisht, Associate Professor, NCGG and Course Coordinator of the programme gave detailed overview of the programme. He
highlighted that the programme is structured for two weeks wherein first week delved into academic session and second week focused on exposure visits.
The NCGG has trained civil servants from 33 countries including Bangladesh, Maldives, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Seychelles, Gambia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Fiji, Mozambique, Cambodia, Madagascar among others.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse