Co-op agreement with Qatar Night Travel and Tour World

Published: Monday, March 21, 2022

A new impetus for economic, trade and technological cooperation between Cambodia and Qatar will provide a suite of economic benefits for the Kingdom, above all a driving force for exports to the Middle East and a major magnet for attracting more investors and tourists from the region. , According to observers.

On March 16, the Ministry of Commerce held an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the contents of a draft agreement on economic, trade and technical cooperation between Cambodia and Qatar, and to be attended by representatives of 12 ministries and organizations.

Under-Secretary of the Ministry of State Pen Sovichet, who chaired the meeting, said the document had been repeatedly discussed and scrutinized by ministry officials and technical experts, and agreed almost entirely on the content of Phnom Penh and Doha.

Cambodia is now in a hurry to finalize the draft agreement so that it can be signed at the right time, he said.

Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said the device would give the state many benefits, supported by direct flights between the two countries provided by state-owned flag carrier Qatar Airways.

He said the agreement would not only expand the scope for bilateral cooperation, but also expand Cambodian market access to the Middle East, one of the world’s most developed economies.

Strengthening cooperation with Qatar is a new indicator of Cambodia’s growing capacity to reduce dependence on existing markets through the use of preferential tariffs such as the EU’s ‘Everything But Arms’. [EBA] And generalized systems of choice [GSP]And so on.

Strengthening trade ties means opening up export markets for Cambodian products, he said.

Heng added that the state’s exports to Qatar – known as the home of a news channel – include agricultural products, textile-related products and halal food – or food approved under Islamic law as defined in the holy book, the Quran.

Thorn Sinan, chairman of the Cambodia chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), says direct flights between Qatar and Phnom Penh have done wonders for Cambodia’s tourism sector, identifying Middle Eastern visitors as big spenders.

However, he said that in order to make Cambodia an attractive destination for tourists and investors in the Middle East, it is necessary to provide a high level of services in accommodation, restaurants – especially halal, places of worship and other facilities.

Hong Vanak, director of international economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the Kingdom stood to gain substantial revenue from increased product exports and tourism flows from Qatar, which he described as “a prosperous country with a high-income population”.

Highlighting the Middle East country’s vast expertise in the oil and gas sector, Vanak advised Qatari businessmen to launch an attractive offensive in Cambodia to persuade them to invest in the oil and gas sector in the Kingdom.

According to Sovicheat, the draft agreement on economic, trade and technical cooperation between Cambodia and Qatar covers a number of “major priority areas”, including trade, tariffs, investment, industry, agriculture, telecommunications, mining and energy, science, tourism and more. Transportation

The agreement will provide a “necessary legal basis” and allow for the creation of a comprehensive framework for cooperation between the two countries, down the road created to promote bilateral trade and investment.

For the context, Cambodian exports and imports from Qatar in 2020 were $ 0.56245 million and $ 2.71 million, respectively.

Annual bilateral trade between the two countries has been very limited although Qatar is leaning, with the number in 2020 being about one-eighth higher than in 2019, but about one-eleven percent lower than in 2018, according to a report.

Recent figures from the Statistics website indicate that in 2020, non-knit or crocheted garments accounted for 19 0.19158 million or 34.06 percent of Cambodian exports, with “plastics” importing $ 2.69 million or almost all of the Kingdom.

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Tags: Cambodia Tourism, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)