“Rectangular Strategy” for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency Phase IV.

After three phases of implementation of the Rectangular Strategy, profound transformation of economic structure has taken place and people’s livelihoods have been improved in terms of both material and mental aspects through sustainable economic growth, job creation, assurance of social equity and strengthened governance in governments’ institutions.
In the medium term, Cambodia’s socio-economic development will experience a “New Transformation”, that is the transition to upper middle-income country. This requires further strengthening of the public institutions within the framework of democratic process by sustaining high economic growth; promoting socio-economic structural change; creating quality jobs for the youth, responding to the expectations of the people, especially addressing the gradually increasing needs of the people, including access to quality public basic services; ensuring social security and welfare; ensuring income security especially for the vulnerable groups; ensuring fair development for urban and rural areas; taking full advantages of technological development and digitalization; and lastly; stepping up the effectiveness of the protection and conservation of the environment, natural resources, ecosystem, biodiversity, forest and wildlife sanctuaries as well as adaptation to climate change.
Stepping up diversification and productivity of the agriculture sector remain a challenge that must be addressed urgently because agriculture still plays an important role in the national economy, in particular, its contribution to the poverty reduction, improvement in people’s livelihoods and job creation. Moreover, agriculture helps prevent people from falling back into poverty and reduce income gap of the people as well as development gap between urban and rural areas. More importantly, investment in the agriculture sector will contribute to ensuring food security in the long term as well as maintaining food price at low level to ensure positive effect on the real wages. The strategic goal of the Royal Government is to strengthen the role of agriculture sector in generating jobs, ensuring food security, reducing poverty, and developing rural areas.
Human resource development is considered the priority of the Rectangular Strategy in every stage, and in particular, has become the first priority in the stage 3 and stage 4, aimed at improving education, vocational skills, competence, entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation, virtue, morality, patriotism and sense of responsibility, health and physical fitness, women’s roles and social protection. With this regard, human resource development in the 6th Legislature of the National Assembly will continue to focus on: 1). strengthening of the quality of education, science, and technology sectors; 2). vocational training; 3). enhancement of public health service and nutrition; and 4). strengthening of gender equity and social protection.
Global industrial revolution has caused profound transformation of the socio-economic landscape environment due to technological innovations, and is now embarking on the path to a new phase, namely, the forth industrial revolution. This requires the Royal Government to be ready to seize opportunities and respond to challenges created by new economic sectors, SME development, enhancement of the productivity and efficiency of agriculture sector, improvement of health system, capacity enhancement to deal with natural disasters as well as effective urban management and environmental management.
The Rectangular Strategy aims at strengthening the capacity and governance of public institutions, at both national and sub-national levels, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of public services delivery aimed at serving the people better as well as improving business and investment environment. The strategic objective of the governance is the modernization of government institutions and inclusive, equitable and just development through exercising political, economic, and administrative power in governing and managing the national affairs, especially in ensuring sustainable role and function of the public administration by focusing on People-Centric interest and the Nation-State Building.