Cambodia, UK to strengthen bilateral trade ties

Cambodia and the United Kingdom will continue to push for better economic and trade cooperation, amid significant growth in bilateral trade in recent years.

At a meeting with UK Minister of State for International Trade James Duddridge during the Group of 20 Trade, Investment, and Industry Ministerial Meeting (TIIMM) in Bali, Indonesia, on 23 September 2022, Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, thanked the British government for its support and cooperation, including scholarships to Cambodian students, help in strengthening the automotive and electronics exports, and for donating Covid-19 vaccine.

Duddridge expressed optimism for stronger Cambodia-UK trade cooperation and bilateral relations.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of reorganizing and strengthening the ASEAN-UK Economic Ministers’ Consultative Meeting.

Hong Vanak, Economic Researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told Khmer Times that good diplomatic relations and bilateral economic cooperation had led to a significant increase in trade between the two countries. Through UK’s GSP (generalised scheme of preferences), Cambodian goods have been able to enter more European markets.

In a post-Brexit strategic move, the UK will replace the GSP for the developing countries with a new trading instrument.

In the first quarter of 2022, Cambodia was the UK’s 90th largest trading partner, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the UK trade.

According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), in the eight months of 2022, trade between the two countries increased 44 percent (year-on-year) to $687 million.

Of this, the Cambodian exports to the UK increased 42 percent to over $627 million, and imports rose 67 percent to $59 million.

In 2021, the Cambodia-UK trade was at $788 million, down 10 per cent from 2020. While Cambodian exports declined 11.89 per cent to $731.842 million, imports rose 10 per cent to $56 million, according to the GDCE.

Source: Khmer Times