PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will promote their relationship, particularly in terms of trade and investment.

This was the topic of discussion in Hong Kong on Mar. 19 between H.E. SOK Sopheak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce, and Ms. Agnes CHAN, Deputy Chairman of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC), with participation of leaders of private enterprises of Hong Kong, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce.

In the meeting, H.E. Secretary of State briefed Ms. Agnes CHAN on the achievements of the Royal Government of Cambodia, especially the entry into force of Cambodia New Investment Law and related regulations, the signings of bilateral and multilateral FTAs, various policies tailored for promoting digitalisation including the National Single Window project, as well as the recent Special Programme for Promoting Investments in Preah Sihanouk Province launched by Samdech Prime Minister in January this year.

Besides, both parties discussed the possibility of forging closer relation between the HKGCC and Cambodia Chamber of Commerce via any specific platform on realistic basis.

Earlier, on Mar. 18, H.E. SOK Sopheak also met with Dr. Stephen Wong, Head of Chief Executive's Policy Unit (CEPU), to comprehend the crucial contributions of think tanks in the development of Hong Kong SAR's public policy.

On the occasion, both counterparts discussed the benefits that Cambodia and Hong Kong SAR have reaped under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the promotion of startups via research and development (R&D), as well as the success story of Hong Kong SAR's theoretical transformation of ‘Made in Hong Kong' into ‘Made by Hong Kong'.

After that, H.E. Secretary of State proceeded to another meeting with Mr. Desmond HOU, Deputy Government Economist of the Office of Government Economist (OGE) of Hong Kong SAR, where he emphasised the newly launched Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I and other legal and policy reforms embraced by the RGC in promoting Cambodia's trade and investment growth and resilience, both pre and during the global crises instigated by the pandemic and geopolitical standoffs.