In his message sent to Cambodian people on the threshold of the country’s traditional Chol Chnam Thmay festival on April 7, Prime Minister Hun Sen reaffirmed the new government’s leading priorities to promote socio-economic development.

Accordingly, the priority areas will include developing human resources, teaching vocational skills to teenagers and further developing the infrastructure system.

The energy and agriculture sectors’ development will also be focused on to hasten poverty reduction, towards forming a society in line with the aspirations of most Cambodian people.

On the occasion, Hun Sen called on agencies, organisations and Cambodian people from all walks of life to heighten their sense of solidarity to participate in the implementation of the national development strategy, thus making their country more prosperous in the future.

The same day, in its report, the World Bank forecast that Cambodia’s economy will grow by 7.2 percent this year thanks to continued global economic recovery and political stability.

The bank said Cambodia will be one of the countries to reach the highest GDP growth in the Southeast Asian region in 2014.
|
According to Hun Sen, his country’s economic pillars, which include agriculture, tourism and textile exports, helped Cambodia reach stable economic growth in 2013.

Last year, Cambodia’s rice output hit 9.3 million tonnes, while its garment industry’s export turnover reached over 5 billion USD and generated jobs for 62,000 people.

The country received 4.2 million foreign tourists last year, up 15 percent over the previous year, and earned 2.5 billion USD.-VNA