PHNOM PENH: On Wednesday, 2 March, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce and Chairman of the High-Level Working Group on ASEAN Economic Integration for Cambodia (HLTF-EI Lead for Cambodia), Pich Rithy, led a Cambodian delegation to attend the 41st Meeting of the High-Level Working Group on ASEAN Economic Integration (41st HTLF-EI) via video conference.

The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister for International Economic Cooperation of the Indonesian Ministry of Economy, Rizal Affandi Lukman, and also attended by the Chair of the ASEAN Economic Integration Working Group on ASEAN Member States, delegations of all ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General and other officials of the ASEAN Secretariat.

The members attending the meeting congratulated Cambodia on assuming the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2022 and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting and providing close cooperation under Cambodia's ASEAN Chairmanship.

Secretary of State Pich Rithy spoke at the meeting and stated that this meeting notes the important work progress under the ASEAN Chairmanship of Cambodia in 2022, and further offers examination and discussion on the important agenda to prepare recommendations. He went over the planned agenda for the upcoming 28th ASEAN Economic Ministers (the 28th AEM Retreat) to be held on 16-17 March 2022:

1. Adoption of Economic Priority Achievements (PEDs) under Cambodia's ASEAN Chairmanship for 2022

2. Progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Rehabilitation Framework (ACRF)

3. The 4th Industrial Revolution and Digital Transformation

4. Progress of the Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)

5. Concept Document on Carbon Neutrality

6. Progress of the post-ASEAN Vision 2025 (ASEAN Post-2025 Vision)

7. Issues such as (1) Action Plan of the G20 for the 20 fastest-growing economies, (2) ASEAN-World Economic Forum (WEF) cooperation, (3) Monitoring the recommendations of the Mid-Term Review Report, Mid-Term Review of the AEC Blueprint 2025, (4) Strengthening cross-sectoral cooperation, and (5) Other important work.