PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and Singapore pledged to boost cooperation in attracting investments to benefit both nations. This commitment came during a meeting between Cambodian and Singaporean officials accompanying Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to Singapore for two-days from June 18-19.
Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and emphasized Cambodia’s desire for broader cooperation in business, private sector engagement, security, and other areas as the two nations approach their 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
In respond, Singapore’s President H.E. Tharman Shanmugaratnam expressed optimism about Cambodia and the country’s young workforce as well the vocational training programs, which he sees as drivers for attracting investment in energy, manufacturing, and other promising sectors. He commended the strong ties between the two countries across various sectors and called for closer collaboration for mutual benefit.
During the visit, H.E. Chea Vuthy, Secretary General of the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB) highlighted potential for collaboration in areas like auto parts, electronics, logistics, and agricultural processing (rubber, cashews, cassava) for domestic consumption and export.
Singapore’s Enterprise Singapore echoed the sentiment, encouraging Singaporean companies to explore investment opportunities in Cambodia’s agriculture, food processing, and infrastructure sectors.
Discussions also covered environmental protection and climate change, with both leaders emphasizing the importance of resilient economies through renewable energy use and the ASEAN Power Grid.
For trade and investment, both sides agreed to work on increasing bilateral trade and investment volumes, promoting tourism, and enhancing cooperation in finance, banking, and technology. They further agreed to encourage ongoing discussions between relevant ministries to define concrete steps for collaboration in agriculture, trade, investment, and more.