PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Manet presided over the 19th Government-Private Sector Forum today to jointly review the previous government and promote private sector development by strengthening competitiveness and improving the business and investment environment in Cambodia.

In the main hall of the Peace Palace on November 13, about 1,200 government officials, diplomats and investors gathered for the first time in 2023.

Speaking at the forum, the First Vice President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Sun Chanthol, said that although Cambodia has achieved good results in the past, new issues are constantly emerging, which requires the government and the private sector to work together on a regular basis.

"We all hope that today's forum will contribute to promoting Cambodia's economic independence by continuing to strengthen resilience, competitiveness and economic diversification to achieve the vision of Cambodia as a high-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050 through the introduction of a package of sharp, targeted and timely reform measures by the Prime Minister."

President of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, Oknha Kith Meng, raised concerns of the private sector regarding financial regulation in Cambodia, especially the issue of overlapping administrative systems that hinder investment and create tax issues.

"The above proposal is very important to ensure that the private sector is helping to provide sustainable business growth for the benefit of all Cambodians and to achieve our goal of being a high-middle-income country by 2030," he said.

Minister of Economy Aun Pornmoniroth, who is also Chairman of the Economic and Monetary Policy Committee, presented ten additional proposals from the private sector to the Prime Minister, including facilitating the business environment, taxation, customs, infrastructure, and restoring the tourism sector, agriculture, banking, mining, energy, construction and finance.

In response, Prime Minister Hun Manet said that the government is committed to launching and promoting the reform measures package under the first phase of the Pentagon Strategy in line with the motto "Job growth, equity, efficiency and sustainability."

The first Royal Government-Private Sector Forum was held on December 21, 1999, and is considered to be an open Plenary Session of the Council of Ministers, meaning that decisions made during the forum are tantamount to official Cabinet decisions.