In May, 2013, Mr. Mam Sambath, Executive Director of DPA, attended the 6th EITI Global Conference in Sydney, Australia. The conference was designed to bring together representatives from around the world to discuss initiatives, laws and impact from the extractive industries.

The event, which was attended by 1,200 participants from 96 countries, included an overview of mandatory reporting laws, global reach and expected impact as well as a discussion of US and EU extractive disclosure rules. It also provided a forum for discussing new rules and practices and created a network of regional and international organisations and coalitions.

The predominant theme for the conference was “converting transparency to accountability” and was designed for governments, private sectors and CSO representatives to learn lessons and exchange knowledge and challenges in implementing the extractive industry transparency initiative.

“It is good news for Cambodia that EU members agreed to adopt the EU Accounting and Transparency Directives last month,” said Mr. Sambath.”This is one more global mechanism that will affect our country since it will require oil, gas and mining companies registered in the EU and operating in Cambodia to disclose payments made to governments. We are happy to see the further promotion of transparency in the extractive industry sector”

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), established in 2002, aims to strengthen governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. It represents a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations.