Minister calls on Oz to speed up MoU on trade
Minister calls on Oz to speed up MoU on trade
Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak on December 22 requested the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (AusCham) to expedite the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) on trade and investment.
The deal aims to give a further push to trade and investment between the two countries after having signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) in mid-November.
Sorasak made the remark during a courtesy visit by Australian ambassador to Cambodia Pablo Kang to the ministry.
He said the Australian side should make more investments in the Kingdom, especially in e-commerce businesses and capitalise on the recently-enacted e-commerce and consumer protection laws.
He also suggested that Kang bring experienced technicians from Australia to provide additional training.
“With the recently promulgated e-Commerce Law, the ministry has also launched a Cambodian e-commerce programme, the so-called Go4eCam, to promote e-commerce business.
“At the same time, the Australian side will provide technical consumer-protection officials to be stationed in Cambodia, share their experiences and improve work efficiency in order to increase the volume of Cambodian products exported to Australia.
“And Australian e-commerce companies are also encouraged to invest in Cambodia,” Sorasak said.
Kang remarked that the Australian government, through the Cambodia-Australia Agricultural Value Chain Programme (CAVAC), has trained some 2,000 of the Kingdom’s farmers in e-commerce, enabling them to sell their products online.
He lauded the Kingdom’s success in increasing jasmine milled-rice exports to Australia by 60 per cent this year over 2019 despite the difficult situation of the Covid-19 crisis.
CCC vice-president Lim Heng told The Post on December 24 that the chamber had signed similar MoUs with other countries such as South Korea, Japan and the US on the exchange of trade and investment information, with a focus on fostering private-public relations and seeking investment opportunities and cementing business partnerships.
“I fully support and welcome the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Australia to further enhance the relations and trust between the private sectors to another level, where we can work together for change.
“Our two countries also signed the RCEP agreement, which gives both sides more opportunities to further increase trade and investment,” Heng said.
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Australia reached A$285 million (US$216 million) last year, up 32.6 per cent from 2018, data from the embassy show.
Of the amount, Cambodia exported A$224 million, an increase of 34.9 per cent, and imported A$61 million, a 24.8 per cent increase.
