Cambodia, United Arab Emirates Announce CEPA Negotiation Conclusion

Phnom Penh, March 16, 2023 --

Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday announced the conclusion of their talks on bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The commerce ministers of the two countries signed an agreement on the CEPA talk conclusion via a virtual meeting.

Cambodian Minister of Commerce H.E. Pan Sorasak said that CEPA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade barriers, trade in services, digital trade, intellectual property, economic and trade cooperation, SMEs, dispute resolution mechanisms, and so on.

“The pact will contribute to strengthening bilateral relations through opening market channels more widely and providing more opportunities for investment for mutual benefits as well as deepening cooperation in other economic activities,” he said.

The two countries started the first and second rounds of their talks in October and December 2022 in Dubai and Phnom Penh, respectively, while the third round was held in February 2023 in Dubai.

During January-August 2022, bilateral trade between Cambodia and the UAE jumped by 40 percent year-on-year to around US$279 million.