AKP Phnom Penh, August 17, 2026 --

The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI) and the Embassy of Singapore in Phnom Penh on Monday launched a five-day training course to strengthen food-safety systems, advance agro-processing and help Cambodian enterprises produce higher-quality, export-ready products.

The customised course on “Food Processing and Safety,” held at the Cambodia-Singapore Cooperation Centre (CSCC) from Aug. 17 to 21, brings together Cambodian officials for training in food-safety management, food preservation, value addition and sustainable food production.

Opening the course, H.E. Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, said stronger food-safety systems were essential to protecting public health, building consumer confidence and improving industrial and SME competitiveness.

“Investing in food safety is not only an investment in the wellbeing of today’s consumers, but also in our long-term reputation and future economy,” Minister Vanndy said.

He highlighted the need to reduce post-harvest losses, adopt modern processing and packaging technologies, comply with international standards and promote resource-efficient production. These priorities, he said, would support Cambodia’s transition from basic production towards higher-value-added manufacturing.

H.E. Steven Pang Chee Wee, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the Kingdom of Cambodia, said the programme was developed specifically in response to MISTI’s priorities and represented a new phase of bilateral capacity-building cooperation.

“Today marks something new. This is the first customised course under the ambit of the Singapore Cooperation Programme to be held at the CSCC,” Ambassador Pang said. “I hope this will be the first of many such customised collaborations.”

The Ambassador said Cambodia’s abundant agricultural production presented significant opportunities for greater value creation through better processing, preservation and food-safety practices.

The course also supports MISTI’s efforts to strengthen Cambodia’s National Quality Infrastructure—including standards, metrology, accreditation and laboratory testing—and help local micro, small and medium enterprises improve product quality and access regional and international markets.

Established in 2002 and upgraded in 2018, the CSCC reflects the longstanding partnership between Cambodia and Singapore. More than 19,000 Cambodian government officials have benefited from its capacity-building programmes.

AKP-MISTI