PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and the Czech Republic have agreed to boost bilateral trade in the post-Covid-19 context, with both countries pledging to strengthen cooperation on rice exports and food processing. This agreement was struck between the Minister of Commerce, Pan Sorasak, and the Czech Ambassador to Cambodia, Martin Vavra, on Tuesday.

While meeting with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Minister Pan Sorasak recalled the strong ties between Cambodia and the Czech Republic, as well as all the previous efforts that have been made on fostering cooperation on sectors such as trade, rice exports, and food processing.

The Minister of Commerce briefed the Czech Ambassador on key points of the bilateral free trade agreements Cambodia has with China and South Korea, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and expressed high hopes that Czech businessmen and investors will come to Cambodia and take advantage of wider market opportunities and a good business and investment environment, which can lead to further enhancement of trade cooperation between the two nations in the future.

The Czech Republic is an important European market for Cambodian products. The value of two-way trade between the two nations was valued at US $80 million dollars in 2020-2021, which was down from the US $126 million figure recorded in 2019. However, such figures are only expected to rise in the near future, particularly in the post-Covid-19 context.