Hun Sen opens Asean Summit

Hun Sen opens Asean Summit

Published on Saturday, 17 November 2012 15:23

News Desk
Rasmei Kampuchea Daily/ANN

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen opened the Asean Business and Investment Summit today with a medium-term outline to diversify the Cambodian economy in three priority areas.

"Over the medium-term, Cambodia aims to diversify its growth base relying on existing comparative advantages," he told regional business leaders in a keynote address.

Hun Sen said the first priority would be to promote agro-industry and light manufacturing that helps strengthen existing pillars of growth such as agriculture, garments and tourism.

The second priority is to expand capacity of handicrafts and small industries with the potential to "evolve as core forces for promoting growth to serve exports and domestic markets.

Hun Sen said the third priority was to identify new industries with "latent comparative advantage" to link Cambodia with the value chain of regional and global production networks.

"Over the past decades, the Royal Government of Cambodia has made tremendous efforts to further strengthen its economic and industrial foundations," the prime minister said.

He also noted that improved physical infrastructure and better economic governance standards had significantly boosted foreign direct investment recent years.

"Also, the newly established stock market is a major step in capital market development and liberalisation, which will promote the development in all sectors, especially investment, trade and industry," he said.

"Strengthening regional integration and the robust growth of the Asean economies not only augurs well for sustained export and income growth in Cambodia, but will also provide Cambodia with competitive edge to attract regional and international investors.

"Cambodia attaches high priority to the integration of its economy into ... Asean and considers it as critical for sustaining its development performance.

"The strategic location of Cambodia in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and Asean is favourable to its integration and connection to the rest of the world."

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2012/11/17/hun-sen-opens-asean-summit/