Cambodia, UAE begin talks on establishing free trade agreement

Cambodia, UAE begin talks on establishing free trade agreement

Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates are exploring the possibility of establishing a bilateral free trade agreement as the two nations boosted mutual investment. The matter came up during a meeting held between Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak and his UAE counterpart Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade in Dubai on January 25.

The two sides discussed and agreed to set up working groups from each country to start talks on the possibility of establishing a bilateral free trade agreement between two nations, the Ministry of Commerce stated in a statement.

“The two sides agreed to
invite delegations to pay official visits to their respective countries to learn more about joint investment opportunities in potential areas and push for a free trade agreement between the two
countries in the future,” read the statement.

Sorasak briefed his guest on the potential sectors for investment in Cambodia ranging from natural resources to agriculture and tourism to the transportation sector.

Cambodia has natural resources, including thousands of agricultural products and many potential sectors that are developing, such as tourism, coastal areas, culture, ancient temples, especially Angkor Wat ancient temples, transportation, airports, ports, roads, buildings that the United Arab Emirates can consider for investment in Cambodia, he said.

Cambodia exports to the United Arab Emirates were $44.08 million during 2020, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

Cambodia currently has two bilateral FTAs with China and South Korea. The Cambodia-China FTA came into effect earlier this year while Cambodia-South Korea FTA is expected to be implemented within this year.

Sorasak said the Kingdom has planned to establish a bilateral FTA with main trade partner countries such as Japan, India, Mongolia, Canada, the UK and the Eurasian Economic Union bloc aimed to diversify markets and boost exports.

The Ministry of Commerce is developing a strategy to obtain free trade agreements with eight major countries and regions around the world, he said.

“Negotiations on a free trade agreement are aimed at expanding and opening up market access for greater exports based on the agreement, which is permanent rather than relying on possible bilateral trade preferences,” he said. Khmer Times