PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet has encouraged more Korean businessmen to start up their investment in Cambodia as the governments of both nations had agreed to jointly boost Korean investment in the Kingdom.

Addressing the opening ceremony of Cambodia-Korea Business Forum held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea this afternoon, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said business and investment are one the top agendas of his summit meeting with S. Korean President H.E. Yoon Suk Yeol yesterday.

“In the meeting this morning, the promotion of trade between the two countries was top of the priorities. […] and I raised some initiatives and mechanisms which allows Korean businessmen to engage with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) twice a year,” he said.

This will give a chance to Korean businessmen to meet directly with the Royal Government of Cambodia's body responsible for investment, the Cambodian Premier added.

“We have done so with Japanese businessmen, business communities in the US and EU, and now we do the same with Korean businessmen in Cambodia,” he said. “As we care about business environment in our country, all Korean businessmen can raise their concerns directly in that occasion to find resolutions in a timely manner.”

According to the joint statement released following the summit meeting between Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet and ROK President H.E. Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul this morning, both sides agreed to jointly promote Korean investment in Cambodia, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and export-oriented high-tech industries, such as automobile assembly, electronics, electrical equipment and machinery.

In an effort to promote bilateral investment, both sides agreed to establish a regular consultation channel between the CDC and the ROK Embassy in Cambodia to create a more favourable investment environment for Korean businesses.

In this connection, both sides concurred to foster a close collaboration between the CDC and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the ROK, the ROK Embassy to Cambodia and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency to explore the possibility of setting up the Cambodia-ROK Special Economic Zone to further facilitate and attract investment projects from the ROK to Cambodia.

ROK is one of Cambodia's largest trade and investment partners with a total bilateral trade volume of approximately US$751 million, ranking 11th in 2023. In addition, direct investment from the ROK (FDI) totaled more than US$5 billion, ranking 9th in 2023.