The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) is working to assist the Royal Government of Cambodia in developing a National Productivity Master Plan to drive long-term productivity gains in the country. The consultancy project is being executed under the newly launched Specific National Program (SNP) of the APO and conducted in collaboration with the National Productivity Centre of Cambodia (NPCC).

As part of the initiative, the APO is conducting an in-country diagnostic exercise, including situational analysis to identify key issues and levers among internal and external factors affecting productivity at the national and industry levels. The outcome will enable the APO assigned-experts to draft preliminary policy recommendations.

The National Productivity Master Plan will be developed based on the findings and proposed recommendations as well as other relevant inputs, including a review of the current situation, overall objectives and goals, key productivity levers, and strategies for the future. The proposed plan will be presented to the NPCC and relevant authorities for further action and adoption by the country or for use as a draft to develop the official National Productivity Master Plan.

Sharing details of the initiative, Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn stated, “The initiative to develop the master plan for Cambodia is intended to boost the country’s productivity by improving the regulatory framework as well as ensuring optimal mechanisms for the national productivity movement while aligning the effort with the country’s development goals in the long run. The APO has been working to increase the institutional capacity of member countries to become more productive, including helping them identify requirements from a macro perspective with long-term objectives.”

Dr. Santhi highlighted that the SNP project aimed to assist targeted APO member economies meet the prerequisites for sustaining productivity improvement and ultimately create a well-functioning institutional framework to increase national productivity.

Launching the program in Phnom Penh, APO Alternate Director for Cambodia and Undersecretary of Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Handicraft Khun Vary said that there was a need for a comprehensive productivity master plan and the APO effort was a major step in that direction. She pointed out that the master plan would serve as the regulatory framework for structural and governance reforms mandated in the country’s industrial development policy with the aim of boosting economic productivity and improving competitiveness.

The APO expects to present the productivity master plan to key policymakers by mid-December 2018.

Photo: NPCC