A US-Asean Business Council delegation meets with Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek (right, centre) on Monday. MINISTRY OF POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AUS-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) delegation held a two-day trade mission to Cambodia to discuss trade and investment opportunities in the Kingdom, the US Embassy’s Facebook page said.
With 29 representatives from 15 companies, this is the largest ever USABC trade delegation to the Kingdom.
On Monday, the delegation met with the ministries of Commerce, and Posts and Telecommunications to strengthen bilateral cooperation in business and investment between Cambodia and the US.
Following the meeting, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said the USABC delegation discussed various issues such as medical equipment import procedures, machinery for the aviation sector and e-commerce and digital economy development.
Other topics discussed include Asean vehicle standards as well as preventing the smuggling of Coca-Cola products across borders.
“The Ministry of Commerce is committed to continuing to promote the business and investment environment as well as trade facilitation to attract more foreign investment,” he said.
Sorasak said the meeting was attended by major US corporations such as Conoco Phillips, Ford, General Electric, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Amazon Web Service, Oracle, Google, Master Card and Visa Card.
“The delegation of the business council expressed its optimism about the Cambodian market and intends to invest more to boost economic growth and trade between the two countries,” he said.
The delegation also met with Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek on Monday to discuss the digital business sector.
The Cambodia-US bilateral trade volume accounted for more than $1.6 billion between January and April – up 23.71 per cent compared to the same period last year – the Ministry of Commerce said.
Cambodian-made suitcases and handbags have been provided access to the US market under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme since July 2016. Access has contributed significantly to increasing the value of the Kingdom’s exports to that country.
Last year, Cambodia was the US’ 57th largest supplier of imports and its 104th largest export market. The value of Cambodian exports to the US totalled $3.8 billion last year while US exports to the Kingdom were valued at $447 million.
In June, a delegation from the US Trade Representative and the US Department of State visited the Kingdom to discuss bilateral trade issues, including automobile standards and the Kingdom’s labour situation.
