Noting the satisfaction and doubling amount of tourists last year, the Canadian
and Cambodian Foreign Ministries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at moving forward the bilateral cooperation to the next level by pushing the promotion of trade, investment and tourism flows for mutual benefits.
This MoU was signed on Tuesday during the three-day official visit – February 19 to 21 – of the Canadian delegation led by Alan Bowman, Director-General for Southeast Asia and Oceania of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada and Chum Sounry, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) in Phnom Penh.
During the dialogue both sides exchanged views on enhancing relations and cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
Chhouk Bunna, Director-General of the General Department of Europe, Americas, and Africa-Middle East signed an MoU with Bowman on the establishment of bilateral consultations between the two foreign affairs ministries aiming to push the cooperation to another milestone for the benefit of the people in the two nations.
Noting with deep satisfaction that the number of Canadian tourist arrivals in the Kingdom has doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year, Sounry lauded the recent inauguration of the Canadian consulate to Siem Reap on February 13 with the expectation of promoting greater cooperation in the tourism, trade, and investment for mutual interested.
The Secretary of State considered the signing of the MoU as an important step towards strengthening the collaboration to a new level, allowing the two government delegations to discuss the agenda and schedule for conducting the first meeting of the bilateral consultation to be held this year.
He assured that the Kingdom is ready to facilitate and coordinate with relevant ministries and institutions for the implementation of the decisions reached by both sides hence he took the opportunity to express thanks to the Canadian government and its people for supporting Cambodia’s economic growth and development through cooperation in the promotion of investment, trade, education, demining and health.
According to MFAIC press release, Sounry also recalled and congratulated Canada on the elevation of the partnership with ASEAN to a strategic partnership level and committed that Cambodia will offer help to further strengthen the ASEAN-Canada dialogue relation as well as cooperation towards the achievement of ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation.
Based on trade data released by the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) for the first nine month in 2023, trade between Cambodia and Canada reached $700 million, a decline of about 22 percent from the same period in 2022.
The Kingdom’s total exports in 2023 stood at $22.64 billion while the imports were estimated at $24.18 billion of which the country recorded a trade deficit of $1.53 billion last year. khmertimeskh
