Cambodia and the Azerbaijan have pledged to strengthen bilateral trade and investment following Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.
The commitment was announced by Manet during the Cambodia-Azerbaijan Business Forum, jointly organised by the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy on October 12.
The forum brought together 90 Azerbaijani companies with the aim of strengthening business ties, expanding trade and investment opportunities, and identifying new partnerships between the private sectors of the two countries.
Speaking at the forum, Manet noted that the participation of Cambodian and Azerbaijani private-sector representatives demonstrated their interest and confidence in further expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.
The forum took place at a time when the global economy is undergoing rapid changes, prompting the restructuring of supply chains and influencing investment decisions, he added.
“In this context, Cambodia and Azerbaijan remain committed to strengthening cooperation and leveraging their respective advantages to complement each other, as our bilateral relations continue to gain positive momentum in trade, investment, tourism, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges,” Manet said.
According to the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, the forum is expected to lay the groundwork for deeper and longer-term cooperation that will benefit both countries. It aims to increase trade volumes and investment flows, improve market access, facilitate business activities and translate opportunities into tangible economic benefits for the national economies and private sectors of both countries.
The forum also saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Cambodian Chamber of Commerce president and Cambodia’s ASEAN Business Advisory Council chair Kith Meng and a representative of the Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The MoU aims to promote bilateral trade and investment through joint business events, information exchanges and support for businesspeople from both countries.
Meng thanked Manet for his continued attention to private-sector development, describing it as a catalyst for accelerating Cambodia’s national economic growth.
“The commerce chamber stands ready to facilitate and support Azerbaijani businesspeople in conducting business in Cambodia,” he said.
He outlined key priority sectors in Cambodia that could offer opportunities for Azerbaijani businesses and investors seeking to invest directly in the Kingdom.
These include establishing agricultural processing centres to supply markets in Central Asia and Europe; cooperation in energy and infrastructure development; special economic zones; and tourism and hospitality.
Through the forum, Meng also called on the Azerbaijani government to study the possibility of opening a full-fledged embassy in Phnom Penh and establishing direct air links between the two countries.