To help the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) keep up with the development of the global context, Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles (LA) is keen on visiting the Kingdom to examine the social realities and economic environment which contribute to strengthening ties between Cambodia and the United States.
The mayor’s keenness to visit the Kingdom was conveyed to Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice-Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) during the latter’s visit to California on September 24.
During the meeting, Chanthol briefed the American delegation about the current economic situation and social development in the Kingdom that came through peace and political stability.
He pointed out that Cambodia has a qualified young workforce ready for digital transformation with advanced foreign language capabilities and the intermediate infrastructure that has been developing to be more diverse and interconnected.
According to a CDC announcement, the LA Mayor expressed interest in visiting the Kingdom to strengthen ties between the two countries and examine the social realities and economic environment.
She appreciated the effort of RGC in developing itself to keep up with the global social context, the statement added.
Chanthol also emphasised Cambodia’s investment environment, which is widely accessible to all and highly favourable for foreign investors within the ASEAN region, as recognised by the World Bank.
Speaking to Khmer Times, Dr Seun Sam, a policy analyst of the Royal Academy of Cambodia said, “The upcoming visit from the LA Mayor to the Kingdom could provide two key benefits: promote diversity diplomacy and boost foreign direct investment.”
“On diplomacy, RGC proved that Cambodia has made significant efforts to attract international investors including Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States, without relying solely on a steel friend, China,” Dr Sam said.
This means that the government is attracting a mix of businessmen from different nations through the efforts of the senior leaders in many countries, especially the United States, the biggest export partner in Cambodia, he emphasised.
On the second benefit, Dr Sam said that generally before foreign businessmen invest in a country, they always hire an expert team to research and evaluate the challenges, potential opportunities, production capacity, supply chain, utility cost and informal expenditure.”
Dr Sam stressed that if any country has these problems and positions in a serious situation, international investors will not expand their projects in that area.
“In general, investors need profits and benefits but if the investment is problematic and unprofitable, they will change the investment destination.”
He said, “RGC should address the real concerns and challenges facing foreign investors and distinguish between economic and political issues.”
The goal of the entrepreneur is to make profits and if they encounter problems in the process of obtaining documents and approvals which are interrupted by informal expenditure without a specific solution, Cambodia will not be able to fully seize the opportunity, Dr Sam added.
(Source: khmertimeskh)