Cambodia is examining the possibility of a free trade agreement with Switzerland
Cambodia, which successfully concluded several free trade agreements (FTAs) last year, is considering a similar partnership with Switzerland.
Trade Minister Pan Sorasak discussed the possibilities of a free trade agreement at his recent meeting with Swiss Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Helene Budliger Artieda.
At the meeting in Davos, the venue of the World Economic Forum, measures to improve economic cooperation between the two countries were also discussed, the ministry said in a statement.
During the meeting, Sorasak said the two countries had good relations, highlighting diplomatic ties established in 1963.
He pointed out that trade between Cambodia and Switzerland is steadily increasing every year. The total bilateral trade volume reached US$379 million in 2020 and more than US$974 million in 2021.
Sorasak also discussed the possibility of finalizing a free trade agreement to further improve trade cooperation between the two
two countries.
He thanked the Swiss government for its aid and development programs in areas such as good governance and popular participation in agriculture and food security, vocational training and employment.
Artieda welcomed the initiative and said the Swiss government has supported Cambodia in its transition and economic development efforts.
She commended Cambodia’s success in containing the spread of Covid-19 and congratulated Cambodia on its 2022 ASEAN Chairmanship and successful hosting of the ASEAN Summit.
Both sides also pledged to further strengthen existing bilateral ties and expand cooperation in priority areas and international cooperation.
Cambodia tried to improve its prospects in international trade by concluding free trade agreements with several countries. It joined the regional comprehensive economic partnership. RCEP includes 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including 10 ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The country also signed free trade agreements with China and South Korea last year.
The Kingdom has also held talks with the United Arab Emirates to finalize a Cambodia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CAM-UAE CEPA). The third round of talks is scheduled to take place later this year.
The country has also examined the prospects of concluding similar deals with Japan and Bangladesh.
According to a recent report by the ministry, Cambodia’s trade value with RCEP countries increased by 4 percent year-on-year to US$31.03 billion in 2022.
According to experts, the CCFTA and RCEP have boosted bilateral trade between Cambodia and China.
Bilateral trade volume reached $14.5 billion in January-November 2022, up 19.1 percent year on year, the Economic and Trade Bureau of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia said in a press release.
Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that Cambodia exported $4,703 million worth of goods to RCEP member countries in the first nine months of last year, up 6 percent from the same period last year.
The kingdom imported $19,363 million worth of goods from RCEP countries, up 12 percent year-on-year, it added.