PHNOM PENH: The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, confirmed in front of representatives of the U.S. Embassy that Cambodia welcomes investment and cooperation from all countries around the world. He made this statement in response to allegations that Cambodia was biased towards China, saying that this was not true, as if Cambodia were truly biased towards China, it would not be possible to see foreign investment from other countries in Cambodian territory.
Lt. Gen. Hun Manet shared these remarks at the official inauguration of the Ford car assembly plant in Pursat province on 16 June 2022. He stated that there are a lot of investments in Cambodia, not only from China, such as from South Korea, Japan, and more recently, from the United States, through the investment of the Ford Motor Company in a new assembly plant in Cambodia.
"We want U.S. investments," said Lt. Gen. Hun Manet. "Ford, a giant company from the U.S. is here, not only helping economic growth, but also indirectly helping the perception of Cambodia-U.S. relations. Cambodia is welcome to all countries, whether China or any other country. We cannot refuse investments or cooperation in any field from any country, we welcome all."
Lt. Gen. Hun Manet said that he believes the achievement of inaugurating the Ford assembly plant in Cambodia will upset some who have always accused Cambodia of not being compatible with the United States, but he said these people should not be offended because this is in the best interest of both nations.
RMA Cambodia officially inaugurated the first Ford assembly plant in the Kingdom of Cambodia, in Pursat province on 16 June. The new plant is valued at approximately US $21 million.
From mid-1994 to 2021, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Cambodia were worth about US $41 billion dollars, of which about US $18 billion came from China, nearly US $5 billion came from South Korea, about US $2.5 billion came from Vietnam, more than US $2.7 billion from Singapore, more than US $2.4 billion from Japan and more than US $1.9 billion from Malaysia.
