The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has launched the five-pillared Cambodia Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap for 2030, in a bid to create an ecosystem of knowledge management, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, designed to be inclusive, sustainable and conducive to the relevant economic sectors and set the stage for fresh investment prospects.

The government has pinpointed science, technology and innovation (STI) as the key elements to pave the way for Cambodia to achieve its broader ambitious vision of becoming an “upper-middle income” country by 2030 and a “high-income” economy by 2050, as defined by the World Bank.

Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Cham Prasidh described STI as the backbone of success in the country’s development process, saying that the government has embraced and integrated them into this “pivotal” roadmap that will allow the Kingdom to enter a “new era of vibrant civilisation”.

“I am staunchly committed to promoting STI in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and an inclusive environment for the Cambodian motherland,” he said.

The Cambodia Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap for 2030 is designed around five pillars, the first of which aims to strengthen governance frameworks and operationalisation relating to STI, and recognises the ministry as the agency in charge of coordinating the implementation of pertinent policies.

The second is targeted at increasing the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) university students by at least 50 per cent and building STI human resources.

The third is geared towards investing one per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in scientific research to improve – among other dimensions – its scope, scale, validity, credibility, quality, usefulness, efficiency, competence and reach.

The fourth centres on reinforcing cooperation and communication networks among stakeholders.

And the fifth is earmarked to help fashion an ecosystem that creates an environment conducive to innovation, which attracts investment in STI-related fields, promotes technology transfer, and enhances companies’ absorptive capacities – their abilities to identify, integrate and exploit viable new external knowledge to commercial ends.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said in the roadmap that strengthening technological capacity and stimulating innovation achievements are the key decisive factors in realising the RGC’s determination to become an “upper-middle income” country by 2030 and a “high-income” economy by 2050.

For full article, please read here

Author: Thou Vireak

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Publication date: 31 August 2021