Strong human capital needed for economic growth, PM says

Strong human capital needed for economic growth, PM says

Prime Minister Hun Manet yesterday said that Cambodia can now produce and export processed products to other countries, a significant shift from the past when it was solely an importer of raw materials. He attributed this progress to the country’s strong human resources.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the Vanda Institute in the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh, Mr Hun Manet said that a country can only become strong if it has strong human resources, and that a prosperous civilisation depends on having excellent human resources.

He went on to add that building a prosperous national society requires stability, prosperity, and the buildup of achievements—preserving past accomplishments, enhancing new ones, and passing on strength and knowledge from one generation to the next.

“Strengthening human resources increases productivity, boosts income and benefits, ensures competitiveness, and enhances the workforce to meet the labour market’s needs in alignment with the country’s development and the well-being of its people,” the Premier said.

“During the 1990s, Cambodia imported most of its products, including fresh water, orange juice, clothes, electrical appliances, and more. However, today, Cambodia produces a wide range of goods and is also able to export them abroad.”

The Premier said that with Cambodia’s market economy and openness, as well as the promotion of economic integration into regional and global supply chains, all Cambodian economic actors understand that they are not just competing with domestic players.

On the need for a strong workforce, Mr Hun Manet said that when the government seeks to attract more investment to establish new industries with higher technology and greater value, the investors ask back whether Cambodia has enough engineers, workers, and managers or not.

“If we lack human capital or human resources, we are weak, and of course, investors will choose other countries as their investment location. When I met with investors abroad and in the country, the first thing they ask about is human resources,” Mr Hun Manet said, adding that “we cannot rely only on economic sectors or low-skilled economy for transforming the economic chain, as well as improving the economy and the livelihood of the people.”

The government’s policy, he said, is to transform agriculture from one that only exports raw materials to one that exports finished products. Therefore, a country can only develop and prosper if it has a strong pool of human resources. If a society lacks education and has weak human resources, it will struggle to progress and will not be able to compete with other countries.

Speaking to Khmer Times, Chey Tech, a socio-economic researcher, said that exporting raw materials to other countries causes Cambodia to receive low product prices and lose added value. For example, rice.

He added that if Cambodia produces paddy for rice to be exported abroad, Cambodia will receive high prices and gain additional profits as processing waste can be used for other purposes.

“Today, Cambodia can establish large processing plants for export. For example, cashew nut processing plants can export to the world market and earn the title of the ‘cashew empire’, as we are already the second largest global producer of cashew nuts,” said Tech.

Cambodia lacks adequate human resources in the manufacturing sector and industries that use high-tech with high labour costs.

“Cambodia must invest heavily in developing human resources, and if we have enough human resources, more high-tech industries will enter our market. However, because we currently lack skilled human resources, we have not been able to attract much investment that uses modern technology,” Tech stressed.

Minister of Labour Heng Sour addressing the 2025 ASEAN-Cambodia Business Summit last week said, “High-quality and healthy human resources are a valuable asset for a nation, driving economic growth and ensuring long-term sustainability.”

Sour went on to add that the connection between human resources and infrastructure must serve as a key engine to support trade expansion and enduring development.

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