Kampong Chhnang (FN), Jun. 9 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has strong expertise in agricultural processing, so he asked the UAE to invest in Cambodian rice, cashew and cassava processing for export.

The request was made during the premier’s meeting with minister of state for foreign trade of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi on 8 June 2023 at the Peace Palace.

The premier spoke on Friday morning (June 9) during his meeting with nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Chnang province.

Premier Hun Sen said, "the UAE is very capable of processing. Firstly, we have about six million tons of rice leftover when we lack rice mills, local warehouses and purchasing budget. We want the UAE to set up factories to process, purchase and store rice for supply to the UAE market.”

“Secondly, we have more than one million tons of raw cashews for local supply and export to other countries. Thirdly, we export tens of millions of tons of unprocessed cassava per year. We will also examine the possibility of other investments, including in the oil sector,” the premier added.

The premier added that in order to attract foreign investment, Cambodia needs to have infrastructure to support investment, such as roads, transportation, ports, airports, electricity, water and skilled labor.

The United Arab Emirates is Cambodia's largest trading partner in the Middle East, accounting for 60 percent of the total USD 222 million in trade volume in 2022. Cambodia’s exports to the UAE include textiles and clothing, footwear, bicycles, rice, tobacco, components for vehicles and travel products. Cambodia’s imports from the UAE include rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC), sugar, animal feed, oil products, tobacco, wine and so on.
=FRESH NEWS