Public-Private Dialogue Consultation Workshop for SME Exporters in Siem Reap Province

Phnom Penh, 30 October 2023 - The “Public-Private Dialogue Consultation Workshop for SME Exporters in Siem Reap” was concluded on 26 October 2023.

Co-organized by the Siem Reap-Oddar Meanchey Chamber of Commerce (SROCC) and ARISE Plus Cambodia, the workshop aimed at providing information and raise awareness among SMEs, particularly members of the SROCC on the Public-Private Dialogue (PPD)and the Government-Private Sector Forum (G-PSF) mechanism in Cambodia.

There were approximately 55 representatives and members of the SROCC and other Business Associations in Siem Reap came together to learn from our experts about the PPD and G-PSF mechanisms in Cambodia. Various related topics were covered such as the background, structure, processes, procedures, and benefits of these mechanisms for the SMEs.

The full-day workshop also provided a platform for the participants to discuss and reflect the issues and challenges that they are facing in doing their business in various sectors, such as services (including tourism), exports, agriculture and production (including handicrafts and light industry).

From the workshop, around 16 cases of challenges, issues, and recommendations were collected. These cases will be documented, screened, and forwarded to different G-PSF working groups as the next step in the (P)PPD process, in order to find resolutions.

Of note, the G-PSF was established in 1999 to facilitate consultation between the Cambodian government and the private sector on investment climate issues. The forum serves as a reliable platform for the business community to address and resolve problems with the government.

Under the umbrella of the G-PSF, there are working groups created and meet regularly to identify and prioritize common problems and negotiate solutions at two levels.

First level is the Private Sector Working Group (PSWG), which is accessible to business associations and company representatives to participate and have the opportunity to internally discuss and reach consensus on matters to be addressed with their Government counterparts.

Another level is the Joint Government-Private Sector Working Group (WG), which is co-chaired by the high-level government and private sector representatives to meet and discuss problems, find solutions, and share information raised by the parties.

Taking part in supporting local SMEs on this export related advocacy at both national and provincial level, the ARISE Plus Cambodia has established a close partnership with the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), Battambang Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and this time, SROCC working together to achieve this objective.

So far, an IT-based communication/conferencing equipment was installed at each chamber to ease the communication across the cities and provinces. A total of 11 PPD and G-PSF consultation workshops were conducted (CCC:6, CRF:2, BCC:2 and SROCC:1).

All-together, the workshops gathered around 840 participants, including 417 attended virtually and they brought forward a total of around 56 PPD-related issues (10 by CCC, 19 issues by CRF, 11 by BCC, 16 by SROCC). These issues and suggested solutions are well documented and will be channeled upwards to the existing PPD working groups at the national level.

Co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the ARISE Plus Cambodia supports this initiative as part of its key support to enhance private sector engagement and better preparedness for the ASEAN Economic Community’s seamless, single economic space.

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Sovannary Ky, Communication Specialist

E-mail: sovannary.ky@giz.de