PHNOM PENH: Cambodia on Thursday (March 20) signed up to receive two grants of US$10.4 million from Japan for its landmine clearance efforts, according to a foreign ministry press release.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Ueno Atsushi signed an exchange of notes for the grants at a ceremony held in Phnom Penh.
Both grants will be given to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), reported Xinhua.
One grant of US$8.3 million will be used for strengthening CMAC's capacity on the South-South Cooperation training, and the other grant of US$2.1 million for the construction of a training complex and outreach facility, the press release said.
Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs). An estimated four to six million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.
Cambodia's official report showed that from 1979 to 2024, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,834 lives and maimed 45,252 others in the South-East Asian country. - Bernama-Xinhua
