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by IANS |
Phnom Penh, Jan 22 (IANS) Regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have promoted market diversification, helping foster Cambodia's growth and development, a senior commerce official said here on Wednesday.
Tekreth Kamrang, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said Cambodia is a signatory to the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) FTA, the ASEAN-plus-one FTAs with its dialogue partners, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
Furthermore, the kingdom has a bilateral FTA with China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Tekreth Kamrang.
"We continuously negotiate with other potential partners for new market access for our products," Tekreth Kamrang said in a speech at a Cambodia-Philippines business forum in Phnom Penh.
Kamrang said Cambodia's economy grew by 6 per cent in 2024 and is expected to reach 6.3 per cent in 2025.
"These positive trends are paving the way for Cambodia to graduate from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) status in 2029 and to achieve our vision of becoming a high-income country by 2050," she added.
Hong Vanak, director of the international economics department at the International Relations Institute of Cambodia under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said RCEP and other FTAs have played a crucial role in supporting Cambodia's sustainable trade and economic growth in the long run.
"These free trade pacts have provided Cambodia's products with access to a huge market of approximately 2.3 billion people," he told Xinhua.
Entering into force in 2022, RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
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