The kingdom’s trade volume with the fellow RCEP members accounted for 61.6 percent of its total trade volume during the period, said the report from the General Department of Customs and Excise.

The country exported products worth 6.76 billion dollars to the RCEP countries, up 16.3 percent, while it recorded the import of goods worth 18.78 billion dollars from the RCEP countries, up 17.3 percent, the report added.

The Southeast Asian nation’s top five trading partners under the regional mega-trade pact are China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Singapore, according to the report.

Effective in 2022, the RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP is a catalyst for Cambodia’s trade growth and a magnet for foreign direct investments to the kingdom.

“Despite rising protectionism and weakening global demand, the RCEP has given a boost to regional trade cooperation, bringing great benefits to all member countries,” he told Xinhua.

“With tariff concessions under the RCEP agreement, our export to the fellow RCEP countries will undoubtedly continue to grow throughout this year and beyond,” he added.

Hoe Ee Khor, chief economist of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), said reduction in tariffs and non-tariff barriers has made it easier for Cambodian goods to access larger markets.

“Key Cambodian export products, such as garments and agricultural products, have benefited from improved market access and competitive pricing due to tariff reductions under the RCEP,” he wrote to Xinhua in an e-mail.

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The country’s trade volume with fellow RCEP members accounted for 63 percent of its total trade volume during the January-July period this year, the report said.

The kingdom exported products worth 5.2 billion dollars to RCEP countries, up 13.2 percent, while it recorded the import of goods worth 14.67 billion dollars from RCEP countries, up 18 percent, the report added.

The Southeast Asian nation’s top five trading partners under the regional mega-trade pact are China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Singapore, according to the report.

Entering into force in 2022, RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 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.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said RCEP is a driving force for Cambodia’s trade growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investments to the kingdom.

“Despite rising protectionism and weakening global demand, RCEP has given a boost to regional trade cooperation, bringing great benefits to all member countries,” he told Xinhua.

“With preferential tariffs granted by the RCEP agreement, there’s no doubt that our export to RCEP countries will continue to rise throughout this year and beyond,” he said.

the RCEP free trade agreement came into effect in January 2022. It encompasses 15 Asia-Pacific nations, including the 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and five additional trading partners (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand).

The agreement offers Cambodia preferential tariffs on various exports, including agricultural products, processed goods, and industrial items. Additionally, Cambodia benefits from knowledge and technology transfer, skill development, and foreign direct investment that creates new jobs. (Xinhua)

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Cambodia is a member of the RCEP agreement that engaged with 15 Asia-Pacific countries, and the kingdom also has bilateral FTAs with China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

“On the back of the implementation of the RCEP agreement and other bilateral FTAs, Cambodia is expected to attract more FDI inflows and expand its exports to the region,” she said in a speech during the opening ceremony of a seminar on Cambodia’s financial stability.

These trade pacts will help boost Cambodia’s productivity and promote its economic diversification, Serey said, adding that the kingdom’s economy is forecast to grow 6 percent in 2024, up from 5 percent in 2023, driven by a rise in exports, recovery in tourism, robust growth in transport and communication, and flat growth in agriculture.

Cambodia approved the fixed asset investment of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months of 2024, which will create approximately 130,000 jobs, said a government’s report.

On the trade side, the Southeast Asian country exported products worth 8 billion dollars during the January-April period this year, up 15.2 percent from 6.94 billion dollars over the same period last year.

The Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP agreement and bilateral FTAs will help Cambodia realize its ambitious goals of becoming an upper-middle income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.

“These trade pacts have not only given a boost to Cambodia’s sustainable trade growth in the long run, but also become a magnet to attract more FDIs to the kingdom,” he told Xinhua.

RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including the 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states of 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.

Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said besides these free trade agreements, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has laid a solid foundation for Cambodia’s socioeconomic development in the long term.

“Under the BRI framework, China has heavily invested in infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges, expressways, hydropower plants, special economic zones, seaports, and airports,” he told Xinhua. “These BRI flagship projects have significantly impacted Cambodia’s development agenda, brought opportunities for Cambodia to get rid of poverty, and promoted mutual benefit and win-win results, which are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.”

Phea said these large-scale projects have greatly contributed to promoting connectivity, securing the sustainable source of electricity supply, enhancing economic competitiveness, diversifying sources of growth, and reducing logistics costs in Cambodia.

“Among flagship projects in Cambodia under the BRI, I have been impressed by the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone, the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway and the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport,” he said. ■ Xinhua

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The kingdom shipped 8.17 billion U.S. dollars worth of products to the RCEP member countries in 2023, an increase of 28.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a General Department of Customs and Excise report.

Its top five export destinations under the regional mega-trade pact are Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore, the report added.

The RCEP agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) 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.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP, entering into force on Jan. 1, 2022, is a catalyst for long-term export growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment inflows to the kingdom.

“The RCEP is a huge market for Cambodia, accounting for 34.6 percent of our 23.6 billion U.S. dollars total export in 2023,” he told Xinhua.

He added that Cambodia’s total trade volume with RCEP members exceeded 29.4 billion dollars last year, representing over 61 percent of the country’s 48 billion dollars in total trade.

The spokesperson said that despite rising protectionism and weakening global demand, the RCEP has promoted regional trade and investment cooperation, bringing enormous benefits to all member countries.

“It has helped the member countries to boost faster post-pandemic recovery and sustainable long-term economic growth, contributing to enhancing regional peace, stability, harmony, development and prosperity,” Sovicheat said.

According to the spokesperson, this world’s largest trade pact, together with other bilateral free trade agreements, will help Cambodia graduate from the least developed country status by 2027.

It will also help the Southeast Asian nation to achieve its goals of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050, he added.

The RCEP is a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial agreement, covering trade in goods and services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, dispute settlement, e-commerce, competition, and intellectual property, among others.

The trade pact will ultimately eliminate 90 percent of tariffs on imports among its signatories over the next 20 years.

Economist Ky Sereyvath, director-general of the Institute of China Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the RCEP has provided a great opportunity for Cambodia to diversify its exports.

“With preferential tariffs provided by the RCEP, our made-in-Cambodia products have gained more competitiveness, allowing manufacturers to offer greater benefits to their clients,” he told Xinhua.

“This pact has served as a driving force for regional and global economic growth, and I believe that it will become a new center of gravity for global trade in the future,” he added.

Thong Mengdavid, a research supervisor at the Asian Vision Institute, a Phnom Penh-based independent think tank, said the RCEP has continued to deepen regional economic and trade cooperation, injecting vigorous impetus into the region’s economic growth in the long run.

“The successful story of the RCEP has acted as a role model for free trade, international cooperation, and multilateralism against the backdrop of protectionism and unilateralism,” he told Xinhua.

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During the January-November period, the kingdom’s top five export destinations under the regional mega trade deal are Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore, the report said.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP, which took effect in 2022, is a catalyst for long-term export growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment inflows to the kingdom.

“RCEP is a huge market for Cambodia, accounting for about 34 percent of our 21.3 billion U.S. dollars total export in the first 11 months of this year,” he told Xinhua.

“With preferential tariffs provided under the RCEP agreement, I believe that Cambodia’s exports to other RCEP members will continue to rise in coming years,” he added.

Sovicheat said this world’s largest trade deal, together with other bilateral free trade agreements, will help Cambodia achieve its goals of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.

The RCEP agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) 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. Xinhua

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During the meeting held in Tokyo this afternoon, H.E. SAITO Ken expressed his warm welcome to the H.E. Minister for her presence in Japan on the occasion of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and expressed his heartfelt congratulation to H.E. Mrs. CHAM Nimul on her appointment as the Minster of Commerce of Cambodia.

In response, the Cambodian commerce minister expressed her appreciation to H.E. SAITO Ken for his time, on his tight schedule, to meet with her and the Ministry of Commerce’s delegation.

During the discussion, both parties noted a remarkable achievement in the bilateral trade flows between Japan and Cambodia that have been made so far. In this regard, both parties discussed and exchanged ideas and best practices towards further strengthening and promoting business activities and bilateral trade between the two countries, in particular emphasizing the importance of better implementation of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) and the RCEP Agreement to further strengthen trade relations and economic cooperation between the two countries.

In closing, H.E. Mrs. CHAM Nimul underscored the importance of engagement by the Japanese private sector to Cambodia’s economic development, especially for employment creation, as well as trade and industry diversifications in Cambodia.

At the same time, she also encouraged Japanese businesses and investments to conduct more business operations and further invest in high-value-added sectors that the Royal Government of Cambodia has considered as prioritized sectors for economic development, such as agriculture and agro-processing, garments and footwear, tourism, creative industries, research and development, transport and logistics, technology and digital infrastructure, financial services, and education services, especially the establishment of the special economic zones (SEZ) and industrial parks.

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During the January-September period this year, Cambodia’s top three export destinations under the RCEP agreement are Vietnam, China, and Japan, the report said.

The Southeast Asian country shipped products worth 2.03 billion dollars to Vietnam, up 30.6 percent; 1.06 billion dollars to China, up 18.2 percent; and 885.7 million dollars to Japan, down 1.3 percent, the report added.

The RCEP free trade deal comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 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.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and Spokesman Penn Sovicheat said RCEP, which came into force in 2022, has been a catalyst for the kingdom’s export growth and has become a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment inflows to the ASEAN nation.

“The export growth indicated that the fellow RCEP countries are a potential market for made-in-Cambodia products,” he told Xinhua.

Sovicheat said that with preferential tariffs provided under the RCEP agreement, there’s no doubt that Cambodia’s exports to other RCEP members will continue to rise throughout this year and next years.

“RCEP, together with other bilateral free trade agreements, will help Cambodia graduate from its least developed country status by 2027 and achieve its goals of becoming an upper-middle income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050,” he said.

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Aaditya Mattoo, chief economist of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Region, said the RCEP agreement and Cambodia’s new law on investment have created greater market access and helped generate new trade and investment flows for the kingdom.

It will help Cambodia diversify its economy and exports which have been heavily reliant on garments so far, he said during a video press conference on the launch of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific economic update report.

Mattoo suggested Cambodia improve its skilled labor and connectivity in order to sustain its economy and exports in the long run.

In the update report, the World Bank said the RCEP and other newly ratified free trade agreements (FTAs) have helped Cambodia strengthen its exports and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).

The RCEP free trade deal comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam – together with their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cambodia’s total exports to the RCEP member countries amounted to 4.59 billion U.S. dollars from January to July 2023, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent, according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce’s report.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP has been a key driving force for the kingdom’s export growth and has become a magnet to attract more FDI inflows to the country.

“This world’s largest FTA, along with other bilateral FTAs, will help Cambodia graduate from its least developed country status by 2027 and achieve its goals of becoming an upper-middle income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050,” he told Xinhua.

According to World Bank data, the RCEP covers 2.3 billion people, 25.8 trillion U.S. dollars of global GDP, 12.7 trillion dollars of global trade in goods and services, and 31 percent of global FDI inflows.

Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think-tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the RCEP has helped stabilize its members’ economies, especially during the period of global economic slowdown and uncertainty.

“The RCEP has great potential to create tangible benefits for all of its members, and ASEAN will reap long-term benefits from this trade pact by integrating further into global supply chains,” he told Xinhua. “I believe that the RCEP will help transform the ASEAN region into a new engine of growth in Asia.” Xinhua

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According to the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, given the relatively fast pace of growth, the pace of poverty reduction is expected to accelerate. Downside risks include weaker-than-expected global demand, a protracted period of tighter global financial conditions, and/or a renewed oil and food price shock.

The tourism and hospitality industries are likely to accelerate further, with a projected increase in international arrivals, while exports and foreign direct investment inflows are expected to be strengthened by the newly ratified free trade agreements, a substantial increase in private and public investment in key physical infrastructure, and structural and sectoral reforms.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement and other free trade have given a boost to the Kingdom’s economic growth, said Aaditya Mattoo, chief economist of the World Bank’s East Asia Pacific Region.

“Certainly the RCEP agreement by creating greater predictability of market access and by inducing some reforms in Cambodia’s own policies can be expected to help both to generate new trade and new investment flows and hopefully to help Cambodia in its goal of diversifying its economy and its exports which have been heavily reliant on garment so far,” he said during a video press conference on the launch of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, on Monday.

In 2024, the economy is expected to improve further, growing at 6.1 percent as goods exports are projected to also improve and gradually diversify, while FDI inflows will likely be boosted by the new Law on Investment, said the report.

Over the medium term, the economy is expected to trend back to potential, growing at 7 percent, read the report.

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Hun Manet made the remarks at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the United States on Friday (New York time), according to a statement of his speech released to the media on Saturday.

“Like many developing countries, Cambodia has a lot more to do to reach our goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a resilient, vibrant and prosperous high-income country by 2050,” he said.

“To this end…my government is committed to taking transformative actions through our recently launched Pentagonal Strategy for Cambodia’s socio-economic development over the next 25 years,” he added.

The Pentagonal Strategy is being implemented from Phase I in the five areas of growth, employment, equity, efficiency, and sustainability, Hun Manet said, adding that the five key priorities are people, roads, water, electricity, and technology, primarily digital technology.

According to the Cambodian leader, the country is steadily transitioning from a least developed country status to a developing country status in 2027.

He said the kingdom’s economic growth is expected to grow 5.6 percent in 2023, up from 5.2 percent in 2022.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and Spokesman Penn Sovicheat said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, and the Cambodia-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement will help Cambodia graduate from its least developed country status and achieve its goals of becoming an upper-middle income country in 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.

“The RCEP, along with other bilateral FTAs, has not only given a boost to the kingdom’s sustainable trade growth but also become a magnet to attract more foreign direct investments,” he told Xinhua.

The RCEP agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and their five trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Xinhua

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