Prime Minister Hun Manet: Cambodia’s Socio-Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19

Prime Minister Hun Manet: Cambodia’s Socio-Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19

Dr. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has announced that the nation has successfully overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing socio-economic activities to gradually return to normal.

Speaking at the opening of the Cambodia Outlook Conference 2025, themed “Cambodia’s New Growth Strategy: Priorities for High Quality and Sustainable Development,” organised by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) at the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel yesterday, the Premier highlighted Cambodia’s resilience in tackling not only the public health crisis but also its impacts on education, social protection, finance, and the economy.

Cambodia, he continued, fully reopened by the end of 2021, enabling a steady recovery of its socio-economic activities. The economy has shown consistent growth, with GDP expanding by 3.1, 5.1, 5, and 6 percent in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively.

For 2025, Cambodia’s economy is projected to maintain robust growth at 6.3 percent, driven by key export sectors such as garment and non-garment manufacturing, a rebound in tourism and services, and stable agricultural growth.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the government remains optimistic about achieving an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent in the short to medium term. However, he stressed that this growth will not occur automatically and requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders, including the government, to strengthen policy implementation and key reforms.

These assessments align with studies conducted by CDRI, which will be presented at the conference. Hun Manet noted that Cambodia could achieve an average annual growth rate of 6.4 percent over the next decade, provided that specific, practical, and effective policies are enacted.

He expressed hope that the conference would yield actionable outcomes to support this vision. He also highlighted two critical challenges for Cambodia’s development. First, while the economy has returned to its growth potential, the COVID-19 crisis has left lasting scars, slowing the pace of national development. Second, like the global and regional economies, Cambodia remains in a transitional phase of multiple crises, where one crisis often overlaps with another.

These include growing protectionist policies, trade wars, disruptions to global supply chains, increasing international commodity prices, geoeconomic and trade fragmentation, and the escalating impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

The Prime Minister stated that these interconnected crises have created a rapidly shifting and unpredictable global economic landscape, posing both direct and indirect challenges to Cambodia’s economy and society. The Premier called for proactive measures to address these risks and ensure sustainable development amid ongoing uncertainties. 

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