PHNOM PENH, Aug 17 — Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said here on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years has sped up digital transformation in the Southeast Asian country.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Puthisastra based in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said the pandemic has led to a tremendous surge in e-commerce, mobile payment and online learning.
“Now, everything has moved online, even a taxi service. The pandemic crisis has created opportunities for Cambodia to maximise the benefits of digitalisation,” he said, reported Xinhua.
“Not less than 3 million out of our country’s nearly 4 million students had studied online during the pandemic in the last two years,” he added.
Hun Sen said the COVID-19 crisis has also given rise to the e-government, saying that digital communication is faster, safer and more effective than traditional communication, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prime minister reiterated that he would not appoint any senior officials who have no knowledge of using smartphones and applications such as WhatsApp, and Zoom.
According to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, Cambodia has some 17.8 million Internet service subscribers, exceeding the country’s total population of 16 million because many people have subscribed to more than one Internet services.
The high number of Internet users has contributed to the digital development in the kingdom.
