Cambodia Prepares for Transition to Upper-Middle-Income Status
![cambodia flag](/sites/default/files/2024-08/AdobeStock_759140274_edited.jpg)
Cambodia is on track to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2029, after meeting the criteria for graduation specified by the United Nations (UN) Committee for Development Policy (CDP). Following the CDP’s adoption of a favorable assessment in June, the Cambodian government has refocused on achieving its Development Cooperation and Partnership Strategy (DCPS 2024-2028).
At a UN Political Forum for Sustainable Development meeting in New York on July 22, Second Vice-Chairman Chhieng Yanara of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), provided the forum with an overview of its recent work with development partners in service of its 2029 goal and DCPS strategy. The DCPS 2024-2028 strategy, the first phase of which was formally initiated by Prime Minister Hun Manet in August 2023, integrates the principles of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) into the Kingdom’s own unique vision.
It articulates five goals: strengthened leadership and ownership of the Royal Government in development partnerships, enhanced efficacy of these partnerships, increased efficiency of sectoral development and government reform programs, transparency with the public on development progress, and more robust implementation and monitoring of each of these development commitments. The GPEDC was initiated to assist developing countries in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by identifying necessary changes in the development financing process. Since 2021, Cambodia was projected to achieve Upper-Middle-Income status between 2027 and 2030. They are predicted to become a high-income country by 2050.