Prime Minister Hun Manet’s recent diplomatic and economic achievements were highlighted, reinforcing Cambodia’s role in regional and international platforms, strengthening foreign relations, and boosting economic resilience.
Jean-François Tain, Minister Delegate Attached to the Prime Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, emphasised Cambodia’s evolving role in global affairs and economic strategy during the 6th Media Forum, organised by the Cambodian Government Spokesperson Unit at the Office of the Council of Ministers last week.
From October last year to February, Mr Hun Manet met with the leadership of 17 private companies.
Addressing journalists, Tain outlined the nation’s efforts to strengthen foreign relations, bolster economic resilience, and enhance Cambodia’s influence on regional and international platforms.
The forum was also attended by Pen Bona, another Minister Delegate Attached to the Prime Minister and Head of the Government Spokesperson Unit, who highlighted Mr Hun Manet’s achievements in the country.
Despite global economic uncertainties, Cambodia maintained a strong growth trajectory, achieving a 6% expansion in 2024. Tain attributed this success to targeted investment policies, increased foreign direct investment (FDI), and strengthened trade relations.
Citing data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), Tain noted that between November 2024 and January 2025, Cambodia approved 138 investment projects totalling approximately $2.18 billion, reflecting a 16.8% increase in FDI inflows.
“These investments have generated over 13,000 jobs,” he said.
Tain emphasised Mr Hun Manet’s active diplomatic outreach, noting 17 high-level bilateral meetings. These engagements have strengthened Cambodia’s trade, security, and economic cooperation with key partners.
He also highlighted Cambodia’s leadership in regional frameworks such as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), which have facilitated greater economic integration and collaboration with neighbouring countries.
Highlighting Cambodia’s growing trade volume, Tain noted a 15.66% year-on-year increase in 2024, with major exports including garments, agricultural products, and electronics.
Cambodia’s trade volume in January alone, compared to January of the previous year, increased by 23.56%, or $5 billion. Cambodia’s main export partners include the US, Vietnam, Japan, China, and Canada, while the main imports come from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan.
“Key export products include garments, leather goods, footwear, rubber, machinery and electrical equipment, furniture, cereals, and fruits. Meanwhile, major imports consist of petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, construction materials, vehicles, spare parts, and other goods,” he said.
Tain also mentioned the government’s economic diplomacy to achieve better results by utilising “digital government, digital citizens, and digital business” as key components within the policy framework. The government’s efforts in digital transformation, such as the Cambodia e-Arrival and e-Visa systems, have improved investment facilitation and streamlined trade processes.
Another sector that has been experiencing a resurgence in recent months, with a significant part of the success attributed to the government’s economic diplomacy, is tourism. Cambodia has increased its promotion and investment in the tourism sector through participation in international exhibitions, engagement in various leadership programmes, and official visits abroad by Mr Hun Manet.
During Mr Hun Manet’s official visit to the Philippines from February 10-11, the Ministries of Tourism of Cambodia and the Philippines signed an MoU on tourism cooperation for 2025-2028, aiming to boost the flow of tourists between the two countries.
In 2024, international tourist arrivals reached 6.7 million, a 23% increase compared to 2023. This number, 6.7 million, is higher than the number of international tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic. For comparison, in 2019, international tourist arrivals were 6.6 million. Moreover, in just this January, international tourists numbered over 600,000, a 13.3% increase compared to January 2024.
The government’s digitalisation agenda has also progressed, with the launch of the “cdcIPM” platform by the CDC to simplify investment applications and regulatory procedures.
“The economic diplomacy fully aims to contribute to maintaining the country’s economic growth, creating jobs, reducing poverty, and improving the living standards of the Cambodian people in the 2030 and 2050 outlooks. In other words, making Cambodia a high-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050,” Tain said.
“Indeed, contributing to maintaining our country’s economic growth, with economic diplomacy being the most important driving force, must continue to bring good results because, as we all know, Cambodia will graduate from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2029,” he added.
Tain reinforced the government’s commitment to preserving national sovereignty while fostering international collaboration. He asserted that Cambodia’s foreign policy prioritises strategic partnerships that contribute to peace, stability, and economic growth.
“Our government has no choice but to continue striving, to keep working hard, and to continue pushing forward in order to extract as many benefits as possible from the relations between Cambodia and the world for the benefit of the Cambodian people,” he said.
Looking ahead to 2025, Cambodia will continue to implement economic reforms, promote digital innovation, and expand its diplomatic outreach, he added.
For his part, Bona said the poverty rate has decreased rapidly, while economic growth has remained high and stable within the 6% range over the past decade. GDP per capita has increased from $310 in 2000 to $2,713 in 2024.
Cambodia was classified as a low-income country by the World Bank until it graduated to a lower-middle-income status in 2015.
Bona explained that the approval for Cambodia to graduate from the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC) by the United Nations in 2029 aligns with the vision of Mr Hun Manet’s government, which aims to make Cambodia a high-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.
