Cambodia and Switzerland have pledged to additional strengthen commerce relations and look into establishing a bilateral free commerce settlement (FTA), as import-export flows between the 2 nations handed the $1.4 billion mark in 2022, in keeping with a Ministry of Commerce assertion.

The dedication was made throughout a January 19 working assembly on Cambodia-Switzerland financial cooperation, held between commerce minister Pan Sorasak and Helene Budliger Artieda, chief of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Financial Affairs (SECO), on the sidelines of the “Davos” summit, the assertion famous.

The minister stated the two-way commerce between the 2 nations has again and again been in optimistic progress territory since diplomatic relations have been established in 1963.

Based on the commerce ministry, the Cambodian-Swiss merchandise commerce quantity reached $1.445 billion final yr, up 48.32 per cent from $974.280 million in 2021, which was up 156.98 per cent from $379.128 million in 2020. The figures have been sourced from Customs, which corroborated all however the 2021 determine, citing a barely decrease $974.279 million.

Sorasak recommended trying into coming into right into a bilateral FTA to underpin optimistic improvement in commerce cooperation between the 2 nations and governments.

An FTA is a world treaty between two or extra economies designed to scale back or eradicate sure boundaries to imports and exports amongst them, usually whereas safeguarding security, safety, well being and different respectable regulatory goals. Such a pact may serve to facilitate and promote better financial ties amongst signatories in areas similar to funding and mental property safety.

The minister additionally prolonged his gratitude to the Swiss authorities for offering the Kingdom with assist in addition to improvement programmes in good governance, agriculture, meals safety, job coaching and different domains.

Budliger Artieda welcomed the initiative, and acknowledged that the Swiss authorities has been and is at present supporting Cambodia in its transitions and financial improvement efforts.

She voiced dedication to bettering bilateral relations, in addition to increasing cooperation in precedence areas, together with by worldwide frameworks.

Commerce ministry figures present that Cambodian merchandise exports to and imports from Switzerland final yr got here to $9.275 million and $1.436 billion, respectively, down 10.52 per cent and up 48.95 per cent year-on-year, increasing the Kingdom’s commerce deficit with the landlocked Central European nation by 49.60 per cent to $1.427 billion.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng welcomed the dedication made on the assembly, particularly the half regarding a possible FTA.

Heng commented to The Put up on January 24 that the variety of Swiss firms working in Cambodia stays restricted, however posited that extra FTAs would: enhance entry for Cambodian items to extra markets, woo new traders, and create extra native jobs.

He affirmed the personal sector’s steadfast help for coming into into FTAs with new markets, which he stated may present a buffer for the Kingdom within the occasion that it loses preferential tariff preferences offered beneath the EU’s ‘All the things However Arms’ (EBA) commerce scheme and comparable regimes.

Many preferential commerce preparations, supplied by a spread of jurisdictions, grant duty- and quota-free entry completely to the least developed nations (LDC), a grouping which Cambodia would wish to exit to attain its bold imaginative and prescient of changing into an “upper-middle revenue” financial system by 2030 and a “high-income” one by 2050.

“We count on these agreements to supply a leg-up in lieu of those preferential commerce regimes, to drive financial progress in Cambodia by imports and exports,” Heng stated, stressing that the CCC might be on stand-by to supply enter in any FTA talks.

He additionally voiced appreciation to the Swiss authorities for its technical help, human useful resource coaching, and different “vital contributions” to Cambodia’s improvement.

Hong Vanak, director of Worldwide Economics on the Royal Academy of Cambodia, remarked that as a robust buying and selling energy and rich European financial system with a high-potential market, Switzerland affords ample commerce alternatives for Cambodia.

Given its proximity and relations with EU and different European markets, an FTA with Switzerland would enhance exports of clothes and different textile-related objects, bicycles and agricultural merchandise to the area, he stated.

“Moreover, nearer cooperation with Switzerland can be like improved cooperation with the EU, capturing the curiosity of traders from different nations within the Cambodian market,” Vanak added.

A commerce ministry official, who declined to be named, famous that Cambodia exports textiles, treasured stones and agricultural merchandise to Switzerland, and imports prescription drugs and equipment.

Swiss confectionery big Nestle has additionally unveiled plans to spend money on Cambodia, and arrange an operation within the “close to future”, in a transfer extensively hailed by native dairy farmers as a method of propping up the recent milk market within the Kingdom.

This got here throughout Sorasak’s go to to Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland on June 16, with a consultant affirming that the corporate was on the lookout for extra alternatives in Cambodia.