Returning Cambodian migrant workers to receive gov’t aid

More than 85,000 Cambodian migrant workers who have returned home amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: www.phnompenhpost.com)

 Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodian Minister of Interior Sar Kheng held a meeting on April 22 to discuss the possibility of providing short-, medium- and long-term assistance for the more than 85,000 migrant workers who have returned home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Phnom Penh Post newspaper quoted Sar Kheng as saying that the workers need help while waiting for migrant-receiving countries to re-open their borders.

So far 85,000 migrant workers have returned from various countries, especially Thailand, and they are scattered across the country. Some of them cannot support their livelihoods for too long, he said.

Thailand has declared a state of emergency, with many parts of the nation in lockdown, so Cambodian migrant workers cannot go back.

The meeting focused on certain challenges in managing risks to vulnerable Cambodian people, especially migrant workers who have returned to their families and communities.

The government has put forth principles and measures with the Ministry of Health in curbing the spread of COVID-19, said the minister.

Pauline Tamesis, the UN resident coordinator for Cambodia, said the World Health Organisation will continue to support the country in the fight against the pandemic.

The Cambodian Government has allocated a package worth 50 million USD through the Bank for Rural Development and Agriculture to provide low-interest loans to support the agricultural sector, particularly in animal rearing, fisheries and vegetable plantation, Fresh News reported.

CEO of state-owned Rural Development and Agricultural Bank Kao Thach said the loan will be offered to companies with an investment of less than 300,000 USD with a 6.5 percent interest rate./.