Phnom Penh (FN), Mar. 20 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen requested the Japanese counterpart to consider the establishment of a Cambodia-Japan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in addition to the current RCEP Agreement.

The premier spoke in a joint conference with Japanese premier Kishida Fumio on 20 March 2022.

"Despite of COVID19, Cambodia-Japan trade volume remained stable at around USD 2 billion. Japanese investment in Cambodia rebounded in 2021 after a sharp decline in 2020," the premier underlined.

Premier Hun Sen continued, "In order to promote economic cooperation, in particular bilateral trade and investment, I would like to request Japanese prime minister to import more Cambodian products, agricultural products to be specific, and consider the establishment of a Cambodia-Japan Free Trade Agreement (FTA), in addition to the implementation of the RCEP Agreement.”

Samdech also asked the Japanese premier to encourage Japanese companies to invest more in Cambodia, especially to have well-known companies such as Panasonic, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Yamaha, to set up factories in the kingdom.

Premier Hun Sen highly praised the investment by Japanese companies for contributing to Cambodia's economic development and industrial diversification, according to a joint statement seen by Fresh News on Sunday.

Premier Kishida welcomed the enforcement of Cambodia’s new investment law, which promotes business expansion, in October last year. In order to promote investment by Japanese companies, the two prime ministers consented to further enhance the investment environment of Cambodia by relevant ministers themselves through such means as the bilateral investment agreement and the Public-Private Sector meeting, the statement added.
=FRESH NEWS