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Cambodia’s economy forecast to grow over 5 pct in 2022

Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow over 5 percent in 2022 after the southeast Asian nation has fully reopened since November, buoyed by its high vaccination rates, Prime Minister Hun Sen said here on Sunday.

“The success of the COVID-19 national vaccination campaign has allowed Cambodia’s economy to grow at a faster-than-expected rate,” he said during a handover ceremony of 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated from Poland.

“Cambodia’s economy is projected to grow by around 3 percent in 2021 and will continue to grow by more than 5 percent in 2022, mainly thanks to the full re-opening of the country, and the return of the socioeconomic activities to normal across all sectors,” he added.

The kingdom’s economy is mainly driven by agriculture, tourism, garment exports, and real estate and construction.

So far, Cambodia has administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.35 million people, or 89.7 percent of its 16 million population, the health ministry said, adding that 13.75 million people, or 86 percent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots.

Most of the vaccines used in the country’s inoculation program are China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm.

“Undoubtedly, vaccination is the key measure to control the spread, to end the COVID-19 crisis, and to re-open socio-economic activities safely in the new normal,” Hun Sen said.

Cambodia has well controlled the spread of COVID-19. The kingdom has reported zero death from the disease for 26 days straight, according to the health ministry.

The country logged 57 new cases on Sunday, including 44 domestic infections, bringing the national total caseload to 121,299, with 3,015 deaths and 117,428 recoveries, the ministry said. Xinhua