S. Korea, Cambodia to boost trade, investment via FTA

Diplomacy 10:03 January 27, 2023

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Cambodia agreed Friday to enhance bilateral trade and investment by maximizing their free trade deal, which came into force a month earlier, Seoul's industry ministry said.

The discussions were made during a business and investment forum held in Seoul that brought together Seoul's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Cambodia's Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak, and government and corporate officials from the two nations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Energy.

The bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) took effect on Dec. 1, 2022, which calls for a higher level of market opening than the existing South Korea-ASEAN FTA and the multilateral trade pact of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ministry said.

The RCEP is a regional trade pact that covers 10 ASEAN nations and its five dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

"The bilateral agreement laid the groundwork for the expansion of bilateral trade in a wide range of fields from textile and clothing to cars and machinery, and to agro and fishery food," Ahn said during the forum.

"The two nations will be able to further strengthen cooperation on digital economy, clean energy and various other sectors to help advance Cambodia's industrial structure, and to jointly achieve net-zero goals," he added.

Ahn also said South Korea will support Cambodia's technology development through official development assistance programs.

Bilateral trade came to US$1.05 billion in 2022, marking a drastic surge from $54 million in 1997, when the two nations re-established diplomatic relationship in 1997, according to government data.

They initially established diplomatic ties in 1970, but the relations were severed in 1975 when Cambodia was communized.