Ambassador Maria Amelita C Aquino (left) and H.E. Cham Nimul, Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Cambodia (right), exchange views on bilateral trade relations of the Philippines and Cambodia.

(Photo from the Ministry of Commerce of the Kingdom of Cambodia)

Phnom Penh, 28 September 2023 – The Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Maria Amelita C. Aquino, called on Her Excellency Cham Nimul, new Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Cambodia, on 27 September 2023.

They discussed how to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the Philippines and Cambodia, noting that trade between the two countries have returned to pre-pandemic levels,  reaching over US$100 million. 

Ambassador Aquino and Minister Cham also lauded the recent export of Cambodian rice to the Philippines through business-to-business channels, which contributed to the increase in bilateral trade in the first half of 2023.

Ambassador Aquino shared the interest of both Cambodian and Filipino private sectors in doing business in both countries, noting the expression of interest and recent visits made by Cambodian rice exporters to the Philippines in February 2023, as well as by Filipino businessmen to Cambodia in the first half of 2023.

Other topics of discussion were the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture and MSME development between the private sectors of the Philippines and Cambodia, as well as the potential for improving public-private partnerships from both countries. END