The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) - Southeast Asia Think Tank Cooperation Alliance was launched in Guangzhou last week to enhance mutual exchanges.
In a recent exclusive interview with South, Chet Chealy, President of the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, proposed three principles for collaboration between the think tanks of the GBA and Cambodia: understanding, respect, and cooperation.
Chet Chealy receives an exclusive interview with South in Guangzhou on Nov. 21. (Photo: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)
The new think tank cooperation alliance can work on two levels
Chealy outlined two levels of the newly launched think tank alliance: policy making and institutional collaboration.
Given an uncertain future due to factors such as technological advancement, geopolitics, and climate change, think tanks should provide evidence-based research for policymakers instead of forming policies based on subjective feelings.
"At the policy-making level, the alliance can provide evidence-based findings for policymakers to utilize. The think tanks from both regions can work together to strengthen policy cooperation," Chealy noted.
"The second level is the institutional level, which can involve the private sector or any government ministry in both regions," he added.
In this regard, the two levels can further facilitate specific research in areas such as the economy, industry, innovation and technology, and education, as Chealy concluded.
A decade of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center
As the first university-based research center related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Cambodia, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center, founded in 2016 at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary next year.
Chealy recalled that the inauguration was officiated by the former Cambodian prime minister and the Chinese ambassador to Cambodia at that time.
He further detailed that there are two cooperation centers: the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center and the Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Center at his university.
"We don't have a Cambodia-China Cooperation Center. However, this research center plays a similar role, as it informs local people about China, its investments in Cambodia, and its culture," Chealy underscored.
According to him, the research center has three main functions.
First, as a research center, it provides research and disseminates conference proceedings. It also trains thousands of young people and some government officials in the field of the BRI domestically.
Finally, it provides information about investments from China in Cambodia, including both the positive and negative impacts of these investments on his country.
Notably, Chealy revealed that the research center initiates projects that it deems important for Cambodia to understand about China and then seeks funding from either university sources or the embassy.
"I hope that after the reform of the university, it may play a better role and receive a more sustainable form of financing," he added.
Youth's role in promoting mutual understanding between the two countries
As the president of a renowned university in Cambodia, Chealy emphasized the potential of youth in all aspects, such as culture, politics, and the economy, as this group constitutes about half of the Cambodian population.
"Our government views youth as a force playing central roles. We invest significantly in youth, and now they represent Cambodia," he noted.
He recommended that youth from Cambodia and China strengthen cooperation and understanding. Annually, his university hosts about 340 international students, most of whom come from Chinese partner universities.
Outside his university, which is not under the Ministry of Education, there is a non-profit organization called Youth House for Cambodia-China Friendship in Phnom Penh.
As he explained, it is a platform where youth from both countries can meet and discuss topics covering politics, the economy, entrepreneurship, and industrial change.
"Both governments should prioritize youth and allow them to play a more active role in mutual exchanges," he added.
Reporter: Zhang Ruijun
Editor: Yuan Zixiang, James Campion, Shen He
