Cambodia’s Acting Head of State Hun Sen sought substantial investments from Australian investors, especially in potential sectors.
Receiving the newly-appointed Australian Ambassador to Cambodia Derek Yip at the Senate Palace on Friday, Mr Hun Sen hoped that the ambassador would continue to further strengthen and expand the relations and cooperation in all fields between the two countries.
Yip thanked Mr Hun Sen for allowing him to meet and present his credentials on this occasion.
During the meeting, Mr Hun Sen also recalled the bilateral trade and investment relationship and said that Australia has helped Cambodia in many ways, but investment is still low.
“Mr Hun Sen asked the new ambassador to work hard to encourage Australian investors to invest in Cambodia, which has many potential sectors. Today, there is an Australian company refining gold in Mondulkiri that is doing well,” he said in the news statement posted on his social media.
He also told the ambassador to visit the Australian company in Mondulkiri province as well as visit all the provinces of Cambodia because the country now is peaceful and the roads are much better.
The news statement added that Mr Hun Sen also encouraged the ambassador not to hesitate to engage with ministers or authorities to expand trade and investment relations, which would serve as a cornerstone for a robust political relationship between the two nations.
In response, Ambassador Yip said that Australia has always considered diplomatic relations with Cambodia as important and a priority because Cambodia and Australia have a long history of relations and cooperation in all fields.
Australia has many benefits with Cambodia, and the ambassador promised to encourage more stakeholders to come to Cambodia to help promote and strengthen ties in all areas.
“Australia was proud to be involved in helping Cambodia find peace through the Paris Agreement, with Australia regarding Cambodia as an important partner and in the heart of Australia,” read the news statement.
He also praised the rapid development of Cambodia and its liberation from poverty, noting that there are many areas in which Australia can cooperate for development, such as economy, health, agriculture, education, security and defence, demining, etc.
The news release further said that the ambassador intends to cooperate in the field of governance to give investors confidence in doing business in Cambodia and will strive to deepen the economy by striving for economic growth and trade.
He promised that the embassy would work with Australian investors to identify opportunities in the potential sectors to further Cambodia’s economic growth.
Vice-President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce Lim Heng told Khmer Times that Cambodia and Australia are members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
“It would be better if the two countries can deepen relations for mutual economic and investment benefits,” he added.
In the opening session of the Cambodia-Australia Business Forum in March this year, Prime Minister Hun Manet called on Australian businesses to explore the opportunities for investing in Cambodia by taking advantage of the country’s vibrant trade and investment policies.
