On 23 February 2026, His Excellency Michel Parys, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Cambodia, visited APOPO’s operations in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was accompanied by his wife, colleagues from the Belgian Embassy, and representatives of the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD).
The DGD delegation included Marc Fransen, Desk Officer for Cambodia, Kwinten Vandevoorde of the DGD Financial Control Office, and Anthony Caboni of the DGD Financial Control Office.
The visit served as a field familiarization and monitoring mission linked to APOPO’s Belgian-funded activities. It provided an opportunity to observe ongoing operations supported through Belgium’s contribution and to assess their impact firsthand. The mission also piloted a new DGD approach that brings together geographical desk officers and financial control officers in a joint field visit to strengthen both programmatic understanding and financial oversight.
Observing Mine Action in the Field
During the visit, the delegation observed active Technical Survey Dog (TSD) and Mine Detection Rat (MDR) tasks. APOPO teams demonstrated search procedures and provided operational briefings explaining how survey and clearance activities are conducted safely and systematically.
The visitors also met with the Explosive Ordnance Risk Education team and received an overview of technical survey and land release activities in the surrounding area. These combined activities reflect APOPO’s integrated approach to humanitarian mine action, which pairs innovative detection assets with community engagement to ensure land can be safely returned for productive use.
Ambassador Parys expressed his appreciation for the professionalism of the teams and the impact of their work in supporting safe land release for local communities. He highlighted Belgium’s continued commitment to humanitarian mine action in Cambodia.
Belgium’s Support to APOPO
As a Belgian-founded and Belgium-headquartered international NGO, APOPO maintains a longstanding partnership with the Belgian government. Founded as a research project at the University of Antwerp, APOPO received critical early support from the Belgian government to develop its innovative approach to humanitarian demining. In Mozambique, Belgian funding was instrumental in enabling APOPO to deploy its mine detection rats, helping the country achieve mine-free status in 2015. Additionally, funding from the Flanders government was crucial for supporting APOPO’s tuberculosis detection program in Mozambique.
In Angola, Belgium has supported APOPO’s work since 2012, including a significant commitment in 2020 that allowed APOPO to scale its operations and improve land release rates. The support also extends to APOPO’s tuberculosis detection programs in Tanzania, demonstrating Belgium’s commitment to addressing global challenges through innovative solutions.
In Cambodia, Belgium has funded APOPO’s demining efforts through the DGD, enabling large-scale operations in regions like Preah Vihear, where landmine contamination remains an obstacle to community safety and development. This support has allowed APOPO to expand its Technical Survey Dog capacity and integrate demining with sustainable development initiatives.
Cambodia remains affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance as a legacy of past conflict. Continued international partnership is essential to ensuring contaminated land is systematically surveyed, cleared, and returned to communities for agriculture, housing, and infrastructure development.
By witnessing operations firsthand, representatives of the Belgian Embassy and DGD were able to see how Belgian support directly contributes to safer land and greater security for Cambodian communities.
Our sincere thanks to the Belgian Embassy for its ongoing commitment to humanitarian mine action.
