PARIS: Prime Minister Hun Manet instructed his accompanying delegation to seize the opportunity to meet with foreign investors to attract more business to Cambodia. He said that as a person who is trusted by the people, he must do his best to serve and benefit his constituents.

Speaking at a meeting in Paris with more than 2,000 Cambodians living in the European Union on January 14, the PM said that he will try to bring foreign investors to Cambodia through successful negotiations.

"If we take this week to reap the benefits, both in business and in the economy, in addition to the cooperation with France, we can improve the relationship between Cambodia and France and Cambodia and other countries," he said.

The PM is leading a Cambodian delegation to France and Switzerland for an official visit from January 13-19. During his visit, he will attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and pay a state visit to France from January 18-19.

He revealed that he will meet with French companies and representatives of French-speaking countries while attending over 40 business meetings. He said that this is a visit to attract more investment to Cambodia and advised all ministers and officials accompanying him to meet more guests to convince them to do business in Cambodia.

"Do not come just to accompany me to meetings, but to make a plan to [expand]," he said. “Of course, it is not possible to meet 100 people…but if we do not meet anyone, they will not know about us! We have to try to meet people and knock on the doors to introduce ourselves. Working on our mission is more than just a policy on paper."

He said that this strategy was already successful during his recent visits to China and Japan, which could attract billions of dollars in investment companies to Cambodia, while also opening up Cambodian goods to foreign markets.