Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat together with his team consisting of Mr. Akinori Ando, Japanese Expert, Ms. Jansinee Kankaew, Head of Implementation, and Ms. Nattavadee Sraprathum, Technical Staff for FEMI, participated in the handover ceremonies of Japan’s 300-MT rice assistance to people affected by floods and COVID-19 in four provinces namely Prey Veng, Takeo, Pursat, and Kampong Chhnang of Cambodia during 9 – 11 August 2023.
The Government of Cambodia led by H.E. Dr. Yang Saing Koma, Minister Delegate Attached to Prime Minister and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Cambodia together with the officials from the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA), the Department of International Cooperation (DIC), and the Provincial Development of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (PDAFF) under the MAFF warmly welcomed the APTERR team to the handover ceremony of 2,500 bags of rice in Prey Veng province on 9 August 2023 to assist about 10,500 calamity-affected people. In addition, H.E UENO Atsushi, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia attended the event as a representative of the Government and people of Japan to hearten those affected to overcome this difficult time.
In this regard, the Government of Cambodia expressed their gratitude to the APTERR, and the Government and people of Japan for continuously supporting and standing beside the Cambodian people, and also emphasised the essential of the APTERR stocks under the regional cooperation to supplement the government's existing activities to assist people in time of emergency.
The APTERR team, and the Government of Cambodia later visited Takeo province to meet with 350 beneficiaries, out of 10,500 beneficiaries on 10 August 2023. A total of 2,500 bags of rice were allocated to the beneficiaries after they had to face the tough times of COVID-19 and severe floods. Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 bags of rice were handed over to more than 20,000 people affected in Pursat, and Kampong Chhnang provinces on 11 August 2023 under effective cooperation between the APTERR and the Government of Cambodia.
