Cambodian parliament approves national budget of over $ 1.88 bln for 2009

Gen. Tea Banh, Cambodia's Defence Minister.

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian National Assembly (NA) here on Tuesday approved the 2009 national budget of over 1.88 billion U.S. dollars with its emphasis on education, health and military defense.

"We thank the parliament for it agreed with the request of the government for the expenditure of the national budget for 2009, and it will contribute to reducing poverty in the country and lead to more economic growth," Ouk Rabun, secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, told the parliament after the approval.

In 2009, the Ministry of National Defense is expected to get about 160 million U.S. dollars for salary rise and pension of the troops as well as construction of new military headquarters, according to Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense.

The budget will also prioritize programs of education, health, agriculture and land management, said Chepam Yeap, chairman of the NA committee of finance, banking and audition.

The national budget for 2009 has a 29.6 percent rise over that of 2008. Last week, donor countries pledged nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars of aid for Cambodia in 2009.

Editor: Zheng E