Philippines, Cambodia sign cooperation agreement
Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn (top right) and his Philippine counterpart Teodoro Locsin (top left) at the meeting of the Cambodia-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation on Thursday. Photo By Cambodia Foreign Ministry via The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia and the Philippines have reaffirmed their commitment to boost bilateral trade and increase the volume of investment, to further enhance economic relations between the two Asean countries.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was virtually penned on December 2 by Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) president Kith Meng and his counterpart at the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Benedicto V Yujuico, to shore up trade, business and investment cooperation.
The signing took place during the 3rd Meeting of the Cambodia-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which was presided over by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and his Philippine counterpart Teodoro L Locsin Jr.
The CCC said in a statement that the MoU “aims to contribute to the promotion and strengthening of economic and business cooperation between Cambodia and the Republic of the Philippines”.
The deal will focus on “areas such as information technology and innovation, agriculture, manufacturing, business, franchising, tourism, services and small- and medium-sized enterprise development”, it said.
The CCC’s Meng said he was “strongly convinced” that the MoU would form a new basis of cooperation that would strengthen Cambodia-Philippine business and economic partnerships and opportunities for expansion.
The two commerce chambers will regularly exchange information, organise trade and investment missions and exhibitions, hold seminar and conferences, and arrange business matching sessions, he said.
The MoU also agrees to set up the Philippine-Cambodia Business Council in the Philippines, and the Cambodia-Philippines Business Council in the Kingdom, to discuss future investment plans.
On February 17, Prime Minister Hun Sen had called on the Philippines to invest in Cambodia’s rice sector, suggesting they export the commodity back home and to the rest of the world.
He made the plea during a courtesy call paid by Philippine ambassador to Cambodia Maria Amelita C Aquino at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.
“The Philippines can invest in Cambodia by financing rice millers, building paddy warehouses and establishing a network to buy paddy for stock and for export to the Philippines,” he said, adding that the Kingdom has about six million tonnes of milled rice in its stockpiles each year.
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