Cambodia-UAE first round of CEPA talks completed

Cambodia and United Arab Emirates on Wednesday completed the first round of the negotiations on the Cambodia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CAM-UAE CEPA) in Abu Dhabi City, according to a release by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).

The meeting, held from October 24 to 26, was co-chaired by the Secretary of State of MoC Tekreth Kamrang and Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary Foreign Trade Affairs of UAE.

Kamrang and Al Kait, who are also the chiefs of respective negotiating teams for CAM-UAE CEPA, signed a joint minute which is the main result of the first round of negotiation.

“The agreement is expected to strengthen bilateral relations between both sides through opening market channels more widely and provide more opportunities for investment for mutual benefits and deepening cooperation in other economic activities,” said Kamrang. Al Kait said both counterparts are serious about reaching an agreement.

Cambodia and UAE started the CEPA negotiations on Monday this week, aiming to expand trade networks and promote investment opportunities between the two countries. Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak and UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi attended the kick-off ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

A Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) delegation led by its president Kith Meng was also in Abu Dhabi to attend the ceremony, the Kingdom’s apex trade body said in a statement. Meng urged UAE investors to visit the Kingdom and explore the possibility of collaborating on projects.

“The country has achieved complete peace and pushed for deep reforms to improve the business environment and strengthen national competitiveness in world markets,” Meng said, adding that Cambodia is one of the fastest growing economies in the region and its economic growth for 2022 is projected at around five percent.

The government has launched a plan to revive the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and this will help the country to return to the annual growth of seven percent soon. Seang Thai, secretary of state of MoC, told Khmer Times recently that the CEPA is more comprehensive than free trade agreements (FTAs) as it covers some sectors such as investment, services, trade facilitation, customs cooperation, competition, property rights, etc.

“The commerce ministry is the leading ministry in the negotiation and shall need an authorisation from the head of the government first,” he said, adding that if CEPA exists, an FTA is not required. Kamrang, who is another Secretary of State of MoC, chaired an inter-ministerial meeting on Wednesday last week to prepare readiness for participating in the launch and kick-off the negotiation on CEPA between Cambodia and UAE.

About 65 officials from different ministries and institutions attended the meeting.

“The agreement is to expand and enhance bilateral cooperation on all sectors, especially investment, trade, digitalisation and other key sectors,” Kamrang said.

She also encouraged officials at different ministries and institutions to conduct further research for more details regarding the economic opportunities, challenges and strategies to absorb the maximum economic and trading benefits from CEPA between the two countries in addition to the preparation of a plan for the negotiation, according to the release.

“Officials in the meeting expressed their optimism on the economic benefits that will be able to be taken from the creation and launch of the negotiation for the agreement between the two countries as it aims at market diversification, new trade opportunity creation and foreign direct investment attraction to boost inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” the release pointed out.

Cambodia already enjoys special trading benefits with the other 14 countries under the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement, RCEP and Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement.

Source: Khmer Times