India, Cambodia to strengthen health sector cooperation

Minister of Health Chheang Ra said that the ministry continues to prioritise strengthening health sector cooperation between Cambodia and India, focussing on healthcare systems, partnerships, and especially improving laws and promoting trust in the private sector.

Ra met with Indian Ambassador to Cambodia Vanlalvawna Bawitlung in Phnom Penh on Monday. During the meeting, Ra shared the priority initiatives of the Cambodian Ministry of Health, which include enhancing health centre services, upgrading district and provincial referral hospitals through renovations, equipping medical facilities with the necessary equipment, providing medicine, training staff, combatting non-communicable diseases, and strengthening leadership and innovation capacity. The ministry also aims to develop digital health initiatives.

Ra expressed gratitude to the people and government of India for their ongoing commitment to strengthening cooperation with the Cambodian Ministry of Health.

“We continue to focus on strengthening health cooperation through the Cambodia-India healthcare system and partnership, particularly by reinforcing the legal framework and fostering trust in the private sector, which supports and enhances health services in Cambodia. This is an essential contribution to the Ministry of Health’s ongoing efforts,” he said.

Ra also emphasised that improving Cambodian health services is critical for the well-being of the country’s people and for the government’s goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2035, in alignment with the government’s Pentagonal Strategy.

Ambassador Vanlalvawna committed to furthering and expanding health cooperation between India and Cambodia, aiming to improve health services and realise the action plan of the Ministry of Health and the Cambodian government. He pledged continued support for Cambodia’s priority initiatives, particularly expanding bilateral cooperation on digital health development and public-private partnerships, including the establishment of high-quality, international-standard hospitals through close collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s technical team.

Kin Phea, Director General of the Institute of International Relations at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, highlighted the stable and unchanging nature of Cambodia-India relations. He noted that the two countries have consistently supported one another.

Phea explained that both the government-to-government and parliamentary relations between the two nations are strong and that India adheres to a neutral foreign policy toward Cambodia, which has been consistent despite changes in government.

He added that in the 1980s, India was one of the few countries to recognise the new government of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, emphasising India’s long-standing commitment to neutrality, permanence, and non-alignment.

Phea noted that Cambodia-India relations have steadily developed over time, with India contributing significantly to Cambodia in sectors such as human resources, culture, health, and many others.

“Cambodia-India relations remain unchanged. Even though the Indian government has changed over the years, its foreign policy has remained consistent, just as Cambodia’s policy has remained unchanged towards India,” Phea added.

Prime Minister Hun Manet, during a working meeting with Ambassador Vanlalvawna at the Peace Palace early this month, expressed confidence that the new Indian ambassador would play a key role in further strengthening and expanding the relations and cooperation between the two countries. Khmer Times