PHNOM PENH: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will play a crucial role in attracting more foreign direct investments to Cambodia and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
The mega trade pact is a huge market for Cambodia’s products which contributes to ensuring sustainable economic growth in years to come, said H.E. Sok Siphana, Senior Minister in charge of International and Multi-lateral Trade and Economic Relations.
RCEP is an agreement of great importance that has the potential to shape the future of trade in Cambodia and in the region, unlocking opportunities for growth and development, he said.
“RCEP has helped in gaining market access to products made in Cambodia, attracting investors to inject investment in Cambodia to process and produce for domestic markets and export,” he underlined in a Lecture on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement: Geo-Political and Geo-Economic Aspects, held at the Ministry of Information on Wednesday.
Cambodia attracted 113 fixed-asset investment projects worth US$1.1 billion in the first half of 2023, creating some 122,000 new jobs, according to a report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia.
The mega-regional trade pact comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including the 10 ASEAN Member States – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022, RCEP member countries have committed to eliminating tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods traded within the RCEP.
The RCEP, covering 2.3 billion people, or 30 percent of the world’s population, contributed US$26.2 trillion, about 30 percent of global GDP, and accounted for 28 percent of global trade in goods and services, and 32.5 percent of global foreign direct investment inflows.
Cambodia’s exports to RCEP countries reached US$6.34 billion in 2022, a year-on-year increase of seven percent, according to a Ministry of Commerce report.
