(as prepared for delivery)

• Your Excellency, Professor Thir Kruy, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of Health Professional Councils and President of the Medical Council of Cambodia
• Your Excellency Sokhom Rithivuth, President of the Dental Council of Cambodia
• Mr. Un San, President of the Cambodia Council for Nurses
• Mrs. Hem Navy, President of the Cambodia Midwives Council
• Mr. Ban Butta, President of the Pharmacy Council of Cambodia
• All HPC General Secretary Representatives from national and subnational levels
• Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the opening ceremony of the Health Professional Councils Strategic Planning Orientation Workshop.

This event is initiated and supported by the joint efforts of all five HPCs and the USAID Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity. These five HPCs include the Medical Council of Cambodia, the Dental Council of Cambodia, the Cambodian Midwives Council, the Cambodian Council of Nurses, and the Pharmacy Council of Cambodia.

This year we celebrate the 70^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cambodia. There are many ties that bind our two countries but our cooperation in the health sector is one of the strongest.

As USAID’s flagship health system strengthening project, EQHA aims to support the strategic plans of each HPC and complement the Ministry of Health’s existing activities. These activities will help improve the regulation of healthcare practitioners, as well as ensure the quality and safety of health services in both the public and private sectors.

USAID has helped HPCs regulate health professions in Cambodia over the past seven years. The USAID ASSIST Project, for example, was established in partnership with the five HPCs and the Ministry of Health to strengthen health profession regulation in Cambodia between 2014 and 2018.  That project also supported the development of the HPC National Strategic Plan 2015–2020.

Today the five councils are better resourced with operations that are both cost-effective and efficient. More importantly they are leading Cambodia's health profession regulation across public, private, and nonprofit healthcare sectors.

USAID continues to support the HPCs through our EQHA project to reinforce the registration, licensing, and relicensing of health professionals throughout the country. EQHA will also support HPCs in the implementation of their Continuing Professional Development guidelines.

To support the development of each HPC strategic plan, this workshop will assist the HPCs plan their activities for the next five years.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all HPCs and all HPC management teams, as well as the EQHA team, who have provided strategic direction, leadership, and support for this workshop.

I wish you all a fruitful discussion, and I look forward to seeing excellent outcomes from this workshop!