Cambodia is a partner country for German development cooperation. Cooperation between the two countries currently focuses on the following priority areas:

1. Rural development
2. Health sector development

“Democracy, civil society, public administration and good governance” is a cross-cutting issue in the work of the German development cooperation and is taken into account by all ongoing programmes in Cambodia. Germany considers coming to terms with the past crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime as an essential cornerstone for the overall development of Cambodia and therefore, supports the Khmer Rouge War Crimes Tribunal.

Health sector development

On behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) the current Social Health Protection Programme unites technical and financial cooperation to improve the access to affordable quality health services for all Cambodians, particularly for the poor and vulnerable; with good health being a precondition for overall sustainable and inclusive economic development.

Germany has been supporting the Cambodian Ministry of Health since 1995. The new programme supports the Ministry of Health in three strategic areas of its Health Strategic Plan (2008-2015), namely human resource development, quality improvement and health financing, with maternal and child health interventions being considered as essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.