Cambodia Land Minister Pushes Sustainable Urban Development at Global Summit

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20, 2026 (KPT) – Cambodia is working to make its cities more resilient, sustainable and better connected by strengthening local administrations and investing in urban infrastructure, a senior government minister has said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Land Management Minister Say Sam Al made the remarks at the 13th World Urban Forum, held in Baku on May 18 and jointly organised by UN-Habitat and the Azerbaijani government.

Sam Al said the government led by Prime Minister Hun Manet was focusing on economic diversification and building a skilled workforce to raise living standards nationwide. He outlined measures to standardise urban planning, infrastructure and public services while granting greater authority to local administrations.

The minister cited investments in land-use planning, digital infrastructure, waste management and sanitation, alongside improvements in transport, education, healthcare and public security.

He said Cambodia was also promoting affordable housing and land concession programmes to support lower-income families, noting that around 500,000 households had benefited from such initiatives over the past decade.

Sam Al stressed that the government’s urban strategy went beyond housing construction, aiming to create “happy homes” by tackling drug abuse and disease, encouraging healthier lifestyles, expanding public parks and strengthening cultural and family values.

He highlighted the role of arts and culture in education, saying Cambodia did not want to focus solely on science and technology.

He warned that climate change, biodiversity loss and global shifts posed significant challenges to Cambodia’s long-term development.

Although one of the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters, Cambodia has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, becoming the second least-developed country and the first ASEAN member to submit a long-term strategy to that effect.