The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Türkiye yesterday wrapped up the Third Meeting of Joint Economic Commission, reviewing and discussing priorities to boost their bilateral cooperation in the economic sector.

The two-day meeting was held at Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh under the co-chairmanship of Cambodian Minister of Commerce H.E. Pan Sorasak and H.E. Dr. Vahit Kirisci, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye with some 80 senior officials and competent officials of both countries’ relevant ministries and institutions in attendance.

Trade, investment, business, SMEs, agriculture, among others are the main topics featured in the meeting’s Joint Minutes, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry said the discussion was aimed to promote and maximise the benefits of bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Türkiye in line with the policy of economic recovery and rehabilitation after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two sides agreed to conduct the next round of talks in Türkiye.

Cambodia and Türkiye established their diplomatic relations in 1959. Türkiye opened its embassy in Phnom Penh in 2013, while the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Ankara was inaugurated last year.

For the first 11 months of 2022, the bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and Türkiye reached some US$136 million, a year-on-year increase of 64 percent, pointed out the Ministry of Commerce, expressing both countries’ willingness to increase the two-way trade to US$1 billion through the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) mechanism, which will be discussed in detail later.

Potential exports from Cambodia to Türkiye include garments, bicycles, mangoes, longans, rubber, cassava, corns, pepper, milled rice, tobacco, and more, while the imports from Türkiye are textile and garments, machinery and electrical equipment, automobiles and spare parts, items made of copper, and the like.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press