Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 2 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, on Tuesday morning, received a courtesy call of US-ASEAN Business Council led by Michael Walter Michalak, Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director, at the Peace Palace, Phnom Penh.
In the meeting, Michael informed the premier that the US-ASEAN Business Council aimed to promote long-term economic relations with Cambodia; this time’s visit to Cambodia is to discuss common interests for mutual benefits for Cambodian and U.S-ASEAN investors, as well as for Cambodia's development.
Michael added that the talks focus on economic issues, energy, infrastructure, human resources, culture, and particularly agriculture, according to Eang Sophalleth, personal assistant to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Regarding Cambodia's agricultural sector, U.S Ambassador to Cambodia William A. Heidt, who was in the meeting, informed the premier that currently about six to ten U.S agricultural companies are studying on investment opportunities and cooperation in Cambodia.
Agricultural issues were the main issues that could not be overlooked, as climate change has caused flood and irregular rainfall, the premier underlined adding that climate change does not only affect Cambodia, but the world.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said that the rice seed and plants are required to be re-examined due to the increase in heat. In this sense, the premier urged the U.S investors to bring the technical expertise to implement in Cambodia as well as in the region.
He also asked the company to consider investing on processing Cambodian agricultural products into semi-finished products or finished products that can serve domestic and international markets.
He hoped that the U.S will play a key role in addressing climate change issues and other challenges of investment, particularly on economy, energy, infrastructure, and human resource and capacity building. He advised the delegates to work with relevant institutions for solutions; for the extreme challenges, they could propose directly to him.
=FRESH NEWS
