The Government Private Sector Forum (G-PSF), was established in 1999 at the initiative of the Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia to provide a reliable dialogue mechanism for consultation between the government and the private sector on investment climate issues ranging from long range policy to day-to-day operations to encourage private sector initiatives. The G-PSF provides a reliable platform for the business community to raise and resolve problems with the Government of Cambodia. The Council of Development of Cambodia acts as the secretariat of the G-PSF. CDC facilitates dialogue within and among the joint government/private sector Working Groups, and broadly, between the Government and the business community.

Throughout the year, eight private sector working groups (PSWGs) meet regularly to identify and prioritize common problems, and negotiate solutions with Government counterparts. These groups are currently as follows:

1. Agriculture & Agro-industry
2. Tourism
3. Manufacturing and Small and Medium Enterprises
4. Law, Tax and Governance
5. Banking and Financial Services
6. Export Processing and Trade Facilitation
7. Energy, Transport and Infrastructure
8. Industrial relations

The private sector and Government meet as often as necessary, and at two levels:

(i) Private sector-only working group (PSWG) meetings, which are open to business associations and company representatives, allow members to discuss and agree internally on issues to raise with their Government counterparts. These PSWGs meet every month or so. The agenda of issues to discuss with Government is prepared following broad consultation. IFC organizes and hosts many of these PSWG meetings, coordinates the nominations and elections of the Private Co-Chair for each working group, and encourages inputs from national and international private sector members.

(ii) Joint Government-Private Sector Working Group (WG) meetings take place at the request of the private sector or the Royal Government of Cambodia to discuss problems, find solutions, and share information raised by the parties. Each Government-Private Sector Working Group is co-chaired by a Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia (the Government Co-chair) and a representative from the private sector (the Private Sector Co-chair). These WG meetings are inter-ministerial meeting as they are attended by representatives of the line ministries who have been invited by the Government co-chair so that these Government officials can provide solutions to the problems raised by the private sector and report progress back to their senior management.

The WG meetings discuss an agreed-on agenda of problems and recommendations related to either law or policy (e.g. laws, sub-decrees, prakas, decisions) or direct operational impediments experienced by the private sector (e.g. road conditions, unofficial fees, damaged infrastructure). Outstanding issues that are not resolved within the WG dialogue can be referred to the Prime Minister for resolution during the twice-yearly Forum plenary sessions.

As the WG meetings are attended by top ranking representatives of relevant ministries, the G-PSF plays a key role in fostering intra-governmental coordination and information exchange on private sector development matters.

An independent evaluation conducted in 2007 gave the Forum high marks for organizational effectiveness and impact on the reform process. The evaluation also cited examples for judging the Forum's economic impact. These include:

• An estimate of US$350,000 per year for the pro bono input business leaders provide to the Forum through their participation in the Working Groups. This compares very favorably with the Forum's annual donor funding of US$160,000.
• An estimate of US$70 million in money saved by the private sector on a sample of only nine reforms evaluated out of nearly 1,000 raised with the Government.
• A return of $US 105 for each dollar invested in the Forum by the International Finance Corporation and other donors.

In a review conducted in 2008 of 30 PPD supported by the World Bank Group world wide, the G-PSF was rated as the top performer (www.publicprivatedialogue.org). The main reason why the Forum has been so successful is the strong commitment from both Government and the private sector. Jointly they contribute hundreds of hours a year to Forum Working Group meetings and other activities. Also because the Government and the private sector have taken ownership of PPD, they consider this as the key channel for raising problems and resolving them. The Prime Minister's support is also a prime factor for success. The Prime Minister inaugurated the Forum in 1999 and chairs its twice-yearly plenary sessions which are broadcast on all TV stations nationwide.

Since IFC's involvement began in 2002 in establishing a G-PSF Coordinating Bureau to help the private sector advocate more successfully for itself, the dialogue between all participants has matured and the private sector now shows sufficient capacity to directly engage their government counterparts. The business associations are gradually taking over the roles and responsibilities that used to be undertaken by IFC's Coordinating Bureau. IFC anticipates that the key business associations will be able to take over the coordination function of all eight Working Groups by the end of 2010. IFC will also continue to provide advisory services where needed to support the dialogue on specific topics by providing research and other technical assistance.