Senator The Hon Tim Ayres, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, is travelling to Cambodia to lead Australia’s delegation to the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and other related meetings in Siem Reap.

According to a media release of the Australian Embassy in Cambodia AKP received this morning, during his visit, Senator Ayres will launch two programmes with Cambodian counterparts to highlight Australia’s ongoing commitment to Cambodia’s economic development.

“I look forward to working with my counterparts to accelerate negotiations to upgrade the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), which is the central pillar of Australia’s trade and investment relationship with ASEAN nations. ASEAN as a bloc is Australia’s second-largest two-way trading partner,” The Hon Tim Ayres said. 

“I will also attend the inaugural Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) Ministers’ Meeting. RCEP provides a platform for economic cooperation and sends a strong signal of regional support for trade liberalisation and the rules-based order. We welcome passage of legislation recently in Indonesia as an important step towards ratification,” he reaffirmed. 

“As our countries and communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, I will use the East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting to emphasise Australia’s support for an open, inclusive and resilient region,” he added.

Australia is committed to working closely with ASEAN to deliver real substance under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and our regional trade agreements, for the benefit of Australia, ASEAN and the broader Indo-Pacific region, the media release pointed out.

Australia and Cambodia have a longstanding friendship and history of cooperation with this year marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. 

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press