Singapore Strengthens Cambodian Civil Service Through Training

Singapore has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to strengthening Cambodia’s public institutions after another group of Cambodian government officials completed specialized training in report writing and professional English, part of broader efforts to build a more capable and effective civil service. The Cambodia-Singapore Cooperation Centre (CSCC) held a closing ceremony on July 17 for two training courses conducted under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI): Note-Taking and Report Writing Skills and Intermediate English Language and Communication Skills. The programmes, held under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), are designed to equip Cambodian government officials with practical workplace skills that support policy implementation, communication and public administration. The Singaporean embassy said the courses reflect its government’s continued commitment to supporting Cambodia’s human capital development through practical capacity-building initiatives, while reinforcing the longstanding partnership between the two countries under the IAI framework. “These courses reflect the Singapore Cooperation Programme’s continued commitment to supporting Cambodia’s human capital development through practical capacity-building initiatives. They also underscore the longstanding partnership between Singapore and Cambodia under the IAI framework and our shared commitment to developing capable public institutions,” said an embassy statement. The report-writing course focused on helping officials accurately capture key information from meetings and discussions and transform it into clear, concise and actionable reports. According to the embassy, effective note-taking and report writing are essential workplace skills that improve institutional memory, facilitate decision-making and ensure that discussions at meetings, forums and conferences are properly documented. Phin Bunthoe, deputy director at the Ministry of Information, attended the course. He noted that the training would have practical applications across government institutions. “I believe this course is very useful for government officials working across ministries, institutions and other sectors in preparing reports,” he said. The second course, Intermediate English Language and Communication Skills, aimed to strengthen participants’ English proficiency for professional use. Officials received training in grammar, professional writing, public speaking and workplace communication, with the objective of improving their confidence when engaging with international partners and regional counterparts. Dr Seng Touch, director of the Department of STI Policy at the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, described the three-week programme as both professionally and personally rewarding. “This three-week training has been both enriching and empowering. It sharpened my communication skills, boosted my confidence, expanded my professional network and reinforced the value of lifelong learning. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to apply these new skills in my professional career,” he said. The training forms part of Singapore’s broader support for Cambodia through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, which was launched in 2000 by then Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to help narrow development gaps within ASEAN and support the integration of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam into the regional community. Under the initiative, Singapore has provided technical assistance and capacity-building programmes covering institutional strengthening, human resource development and good governance across the four countries. The Cambodia-Singapore Cooperation Centre (CSCC) serves as Singapore’s main platform for delivering these programmes to Cambodian government officials. Established in Phnom Penh 2002 as the Cambodia-Singapore Training Centre after the launch of the IAI, the institution was upgraded in 2018 to expand the scope and quality of its training programmes. Now located at the iCON Building, the CSCC now functions as a hub for professional training, knowledge exchange and people-to-people cooperation between Cambodia and Singapore. According to the embassy, more than 19,000 Cambodian government officials have participated in CSCC programmes since the centre’s establishment, highlighting the scale of bilateral cooperation in public sector capacity building over the past two decades. As Cambodia continues implementing public administration reforms and expanding regional engagement, programmes such as these are expected to play an increasingly important role in equipping civil servants with the communication, analytical and professional skills needed to operate in an increasingly interconnected ASEAN community.