Industry Minister calls for Cambodia-Japan Green SEZs to link with local SMEs

Industry Minister calls for Cambodia-Japan Green SEZs to link with local SMEs

Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), met with the ERIA Mission team for an update on the potential development of a Cambodia-Japan Green SEZ.

During the meeting, Yamada Yasuhiro, Senior Policy Fellow on Mekong Affairs at ERIA, presented the findings of the study on candidate SEZ locations, along with an analysis of Cambodia’s human resources, logistics, energy, governance, and land pricing for green SEZ development, compared with neighbouring countries.

He noted that, with the EU moving toward carbon-based tariffs, Japanese companies operating in a Green SEZ powered by renewable energy and clean production systems would gain a competitive advantage.

Minister Vanndy welcomed the findings and reaffirmed the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI)’s support. He briefed the Mission team on Cambodia’s green-industry agenda, noting MISTI’s ongoing work on Green SEZ development with UNIDO and the EU, as well as support services for quality infrastructure and industrial standards.

The Minister strongly encouraged linking Japanese companies with Cambodian SMEs in this proposed development plan, stressing that domestic enterprises have greatly improved in capability and competitiveness, which can reduce costs and strengthen supply-chain resilience.

Yamada stated that SME integration would add substantial value and agreed that this message would positively influence Japanese investor interest. 

khmertimeskh