The Ministry of Commerce has set up a website for November 24’s First Asia-Europe Economic and Business Forum (AEEBF1) for interested parties to register and to keep attendees updated with the latest information.

The forum is set on the sidelines of the November 25-26 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM13), ministry spokesman Pen Sovicheat told The Post on October 28, noting that both events – and other associated meetings – would be held virtually and hosted by the Kingdom.

ASEM13 will be held under the theme “Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth”.

To be presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the AEEBF1 is expected to draw plenty of political leaders, researchers and businesspeople, to share new knowledge on sustainable international trade in the age of Covid and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Sovicheat said the forum would be held under the theme “Transitioning to a New Normal: Leveraging Global Value Chains, Multilateralism and the 4IR”, and invited the public to register through the webpage at aeebf.moc.gov.kh.

The ministry plans to invite policymakers, academics and other experts, company executives, as well as representatives of business groups and the private sectors of ASEM partner countries to the event.

The website’s home page contains a welcome message from Minister of Commerce and Organising Commission of the AEEBF1 head Pan Sorasak: "Thanks to peace and stability, which for the past few decades have strongly contributed to the Kingdom’s sustained prosperity, Cambodia is honoured to welcome the presences of all distinguished national and international guests to the AEEBF1."

The site lists five key topics to be discussed at the forum: first – “the advancement of the digitalisation fostering global value chains and its consequences”.

Second – “impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on trade, investment and economy and the post-pandemic economic recovery”.

Third – “the significant roles of the multilateral trading system and free trade agreements in the 4IR and the ‘new normal’”.

Fourth – “new growth opportunities for global trades and businesses, particularly start-ups and MSMEs [micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises], in light of new technology and digitalisation in the 4IR, with the governments’ on-going adjustments and reforms, including the provision of policy and financial supports and the investment in human capital development for inclusive growth”.

Fifth – “investment in green infrastructure and green business to adapt to climate change and disaster management, thus building resilience to crises and ensuring sustainability and socio-economic development”.

The event “will serve as a new milestone to reinvigorate the inclusive growth of Asia and Europe” in the transition to the “new normal” and seek to engage “business and political leaders from Asia and Europe in sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices, to spearhead the crucial objectives of the forum into full realisation”, the site says.

The ministry’s Sovicheat said the AEEBF1 would cover green economy issues, and tackle how to uphold multilateralism and leverage artificial intelligence- (AI) based technologies to tap trade growth.

"Through these key conversations, participants will be able to experience new global innovations and commercial opportunities that businesspeople need to keep up with," the spokesman said.

He said the event “will be attended by the political leaders of many countries, heads of the World Trade Organisation, well-known researchers, potential businesspeople and the general public worldwide" and “provide many benefits for the public, especially businesspeople, both regionally and globally".

The forum is organised in collaboration with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the Bruegel think tank and many other partners, Sovicheat said.