PHNOM PENH: As Cambodia prepares to take over the chairmanship of ASEAN next year, Prime Minister Hun Sen has committed to providing full support and facilitation to achieve even more. He delivered a speech during the closing ceremony of the 2021 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit on Monday afternoon, congratulating Brunei for its successful chairmanship of ASEAN across 2021.
The 2021 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit was joined by ASEAN leaders, dialogue partners as well as leaders from other countries. Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his “high appreciation” for the achievements made under the chairmanship of Brunei in 2021. In 2022, it’s the turn of Cambodia.
The Prime Minister says Cambodia will continue to enhance the ASEAN Economic Community, further bolster trade and investment, and strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, all with the aim of restoring growth and transforming ASEAN into a region of peace, resilience and development. In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Hun Sen highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the development of ASEAN as a whole, but he stressed that the global economy is expected to recover over the balance of 2021 and throughout 2022.
He says accelerating regional and global integration must be one of the top priorities in supporting the post-pandemic recovery and sustainable socio-economic development. He’s encouraged ASEAN members to continue to adhere to multilateralism, strengthen globalization, and strive to advance the regional integration agenda in line with ASEAN Vision 2025, aimed at strengthening greater connectivity:
“Taking this opportunity, I would like to highlight the roles that the private sector can play so as to contribute to achieving the priority works and work plan of ASEAN in 2022 as follows: First, seizing full benefits of the existing ASEAN Free Trade Agreements, especially RCEP that is planned to enter into force in early 2022, to boost trade and investment activities, particularly foreign direct investment, so as to create jobs, increase income for our people and stimulate economic growth. Second, contributing to human resource development through the transfer of technology, knowledge and know-how, particularly the development of digital skill as well as the enhancement of science, technology and innovation through collaboration with business and direct investment from abroad, which would contribute to narrowing the digital gap and developing digital economy in the region. Third, heightening collaboration between public and private sector, especially through Public-Private Partnership mechanism, aimed at mobilizing financial resource for the development and implementation of various initiatives as well as for fulfilling the financial needs for sustainable socio-economic recovery.”
The Prime Minister says the pandemic has provided important experience and lessons that must be considered and incorporated into policy and reform agendas at both national and regional levels across the bloc.
