Asean "vast Market" Under Rcep, Afta: Cambodian Fm

PHNOM PENH, May 31 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Cambodian Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea has said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a "vast market" under the frameworks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), according to a foreign ministry's statement on Friday.

The Cambodian top diplomat made the remarks during his official two-day visit to Türkiye from Tuesday to Wednesday, where he held a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan and Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat, among others, the statement said.

Chenda Sophea, who is also a deputy prime minister, urged Turkish companies to choose Cambodia as a gateway to expand their investment in ASEAN, saying that the bloc is a vast market under the frameworks, reported Xinhua.

He "urged his Turkish hosts to view Cambodia as part of a vast Southeast Asian market of more than 650 million people, connected by a network of regional and bilateral trade agreements," the statement said.

"These include the AFTA, the RCEP, and Cambodia's free trade agreements with China and the Republic of Korea," the statement added.

The RCEP agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to the statement, Cambodia has vast potential for future investments in areas such as agro-industry, education, food processing, green energy development, and tourism, among others. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA