BTC in Cambodia

Belgian Technical Cooperation

Belgian Technical Co-operation is an implementing agency which carries out development projects in co-operation with partners in developing countries, on behalf of the Belgian Government and other donors.

BTC has exclusive responsibility for the implementation of direct bilateral cooperation with Belgium's partner countries.  It may also be assigned other public service tasks, such as emergency aid.  Finally, assignments may be accepted from other organizations in the development cooperation sector, such as the European Union and the World Bank. 

Belgian technical Cooperation is a public-law company with social purposes.  It was established in 1998.  BTC executes more than 250 projects in 36 countries, mainly on behalf of the Belgian Government.  Its most important fields of activity are education, basic health care, basic infrastructure, agriculture and food security, and community building.  The environment, social economy, equal opporthunities for women and men, and the fight against AIDS are the four crosscutting themes running as a thread through all the development projects. 

BTC seeks to contribute to sustainable human development and to support the developing nations in their efforts to alleviate poverty.   

Belgian Technical Cooperation in Cambodia

Belgian Technical Cooperation has been in charge of implementing all direct bilateral cooperation programmes between Belgium and Cambodia since September 2001.

Besides implementing and completing the ongoing projects and programmes, BTC contributes to the preparation of new projects and programmes.

A consultancy fund, jointly managed by Cambodian partners and BTC, is a tool to finance the preparation of cooperation activities under the indicative cooperation programme. Capacity building and institutional strengthening, active participation and ownership by the partner are key elements of all the projects and programmes.

Development Co-operation between Belgium and Cambodia

The main objective of direct bilateral cooperation is to further establish sustainable human development in Cambodia.  In particular, Belgian development cooperation policy with Cambodia is aimed at carrying out Cambodia's poverty reduction strategy.

The cooperation activities support the Cambodian Government's second Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP-II) and decentralization policies.  Special attention is paid to national efforts to promote good governance, focusing on key sectors of national priority (i.e. education, health, sustainable development and the use of natural resources for navigation on the Mekong river) in the least-assisted geographical regions, targeting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people. 

Under the general cooperation agreement between Belgium and Cambodia, signed in may 2001, a total amount of 21 million EUR is set aside to carry out the indicative cooperation programme between Belgium and Cambodia