Thailand
Cambodia mulling FTA possibilities with India, Japan and UAE
The government has been looking at existing and new markets through the signing of protocols, agreements and memoranda to export Cambodian agricultural products to the world market, which is now threatened by food insecurity crisis
The government, through the Ministry of Commerce, has been studying the possibilities of entering into FTAs with trading partners, including India, Japan and United Arab Emirates.
On August 1, 2022, Sok Sopheak, Secretary of State, led a team from the Ministry of Commerce to meet with the delegation of the Macroeconomic Research Office. ASEAN Plus 3 (AMRO) was led by Jinho Choi, Head of Mission and Deputy Group Head of AMRO.
Sopheak briefed the delegation on the success of the government in identifying and implementing socio-economic support mechanisms in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, especially the nationwide vaccination campaign and favourable policies, including for tourism and small and medium enterprises in Cambodia.
He said that “due to these protection policies, Cambodia achieved an export growth of around 26 percent in the first half of 2022, although the Covid-19 crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war continue to affect the production lines and global supply.”
“Regarding Cambodia’s perspective on the context of the global economic crisis, especially high inflation in key countries and the blockade of trade flows as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war, the government remains optimistic about its international trade as Cambodia has access to a wider market and more sustainable than provided under the FTAs that Cambodia has entered into the ASEAN Plus One framework, the ASEAN framework and bilateral framework.
“In addition, Cambodia has been looking at existing and new markets through the signing of protocols, agreements and memoranda to export Cambodian agricultural products to the world market, which is currently threatened by the food insecurity crisis,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has been studying the possibility of establishing FTAs with other potential trading partners such as India, Japan, and UAE. The government has also pushed for domestic reforms to ensure compliance with international norms and standards, including the creation of e-commerce laws, competition laws, trade diversification laws, new investment laws, commercial contracts, trade agents and special economic zones.
In addition, it has introduced policies to promote digitalisation in business, trade and public governance, the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, Sihanoukville Deep Sea Port, hydropower station expansion projects and the Sihanoukville Multipurpose Economic Zone project. It is also Cambodia’s main mechanism to ensure transparent and low-cost cross-border trade facilitation.
ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office has been conducting Annual Consultation Visits with public and private institutions in Cambodia from July 20 to August 3, 2022, to find out from detailed and official information as input to quality and in-depth analysis to prepare a research report on the macroeconomic situation in Cambodia. Overall, it is important for the government to discuss policies and for foreign investors to consider investing in Cambodia. The report is expected to be completed soon and to be published in September 2022.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501125186/cambodia-mulling-fta-possibilities-with-india-japan-and-uae/