Cambodia, UK Discuss Ways To Boost Bilateral Investment And Trade Cooperation

Phnom Penh, March 05, 2024 --

H.E. Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, received here on Monday the United Kingdom (UK) Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Rt Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, discussing the bilateral cooperation on investment and trade, and UK backed-Green special economic zone project in Cambodia.

In the meeting, according to a press release, H.E. Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth expressed his deep gratitude for the cooperation between the two countries in the past, especially the UK's support for Cambodia's exports and the initiative of the Green SEZ project in Cambodia, contributing to the socio-economic development of Cambodia.

The Deputy Prime Minister also briefed his guest on the general situation of the Cambodian economy, the continuation of macroeconomic stability in line with the recovery of Cambodia's economic growth, the introduction of the first phase of the Pentagonal Strategy, as well as strategies and measures for new reforms at the beginning of the new mandate of the Royal Government for Cambodia toward the goal of a high-income country by 2050.

For her part, Rt Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan highly valued the significant progress of the Cambodia-UK cooperation and expressed the UK’s commitment to further strengthen and expand existing cooperation and promote investment in Cambodia, particularly the development of the Green SEZ and the efforts to attract new British investors to Cambodia.

Both sides also shared views on reforms to attract more foreign investors to Cambodia, particularly in terms of business registration, financial support, debt management and so on.

The bilateral trade between Cambodia and the UK amounted to US$872 million in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 10.7 percent, said a report of the General Department of Customs and Excise.

Of the amount, Cambodia exported US$796 million worth of goods to the UK, a decline by 10.2 percent and her imports from the UK dropped by 15.9 percent to US$76 million.