• Politics

Former PM Hun Sen Wants Cambodia to Become Upper-Middle-Income Country

• By Romdoul Chetra
• and Meng Seavmey
• August 22, 2023 1:25 PM

 PHNOM PENH – Cambodian People’s Party’s President and former Prime Minister Hun Sen wants the new government to keep developing the country’s economy and wishes to see it graduate from the World Bank lower-middle-income country list.

“I want Cambodia to graduate from the least-developed country title to an upper-middle-income country, and the poverty rate to decrease to 0 percent or the lowest [possible],” he said on Aug. 22 in a press conference at the National Assembly, following a vote of confidence that appointed his eldest son, Hun Manet, as the country’s new prime minister.

While the least-developed country’s list, that he mentioned in his speech, refers to a U.N. classification – where Cambodia still stands today – Cambodia has been elevated to a lower-middle-income country as per World Bank criteria in 2021. The next step is being classified as an upper-middle-income country.

Based on 2022’s World Bank requirements, economies with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita between $1,036 and $4,045 are classified as lower-middle-income countries, and economies with a GNI per capita between $4,046 and $12,535 are considered upper-middle-income nations.

In 2022, Cambodia’s GNI per capita stood at $1,700 according to the World Bank.

Hun Sen’s statement came only a few minutes after he stopped being Cambodia’s prime minister, a position that he held for “38 years, 7 months and 8 days,” as he recalled on July 26, when he officially announced he would step down.

A new administration, led by Hun Manet, has been appointed on Aug. 22 in the first session of the 7th National Assembly. A total of 123 lawmakers out of 125 attended the session and voted for the new prime minister.

In the press conference that followed the change of leadership, former PM Hun Sen welcomed questions from journalists. While answering a question from the President of the Club of Cambodian Journalists Puy Kea, he said he wants to see the country maintain the peace and stability left by the former leaders, especially to see the country’s further development.

Hun Sen also expressed his desire to see development in education, good governance, corruption to be reduced, and neatness, which makes the task “difficult” for his successor, he said.

The former prime minister added that he trusts Hun Manet and his government, and believes that would work faster and ensure further development in the digital era.

“I wouldn’t have supported him to be prime minister if I hadn’t trusted him enough to push him forward. I am still healthy enough to be working for the next 5 years, and I [could have continued] the work,” he said.

“However, the next generation, with their potential and knowledge of technology, will surely boost the national growth at a faster pace during the digital [era],” he added.