Cambodia PM says early reopening has helped boost Cambodia economic recovery

The Cambodian government yesterday marked the first anniversary of the reopening of the country, which has helped boost economic recovery, enabling activities among people and bringing life back to normal, Prime Minister Hun Sen said. After having the Covid-19 pandemic under control, the government announced the reopening of the country on November 1, 2021, allowing the resumption of all kinds of socio-economic activities. The reopening of the country has bolstered Cambodia’s economic growth, the Prime Minister said during the graduation ceremony of the Royal University of Law and Economics. “Today marks the one-year anniversary of the reopening of the country, which boosted our country’s economic growth by 3 percent in 2021 after declining 3 percent in 2020, and is expected to boost this year’s growth to 5.4 percent,” the premier said. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has predicted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would see a robust growth of 6.6 percent in 2023, thanks to external demand and the return of the domestic economy to normalcy. Royal Academy of Cambodia economics researcher Ky Sereyvath told Khmer Times that the Kingdom’s economic growth was on track for recovery, helping key sectors register growth, including industry, agriculture, and the domestic tourism sector. “The policy of reopening helped Cambodia rank as a country with high economic growth,” Sereyvath said. Cambodia has ranked fourth out of 121 countries in the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index and top of the pile for the ASEAN region, scoring 76.5, according to the latest Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index issued in October. In October, the Prime Minister praised the public for their participation in the fight against Covid-19 and helped the Kingdom achieve the result. Mr Sen said that the achievement was due to the measures taken by the government and the role of the public in following them. Lim Heng, vice president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, attributed the recovery of socio-economic activities to the successful control of the pandemic under the government’s vaccination campaign. “Reopening the country for a year period has made the country’s economic growth recover steadily, pushing up economic activities, new investment registered,” Heng told Khmer Times yesterday. The new investment law, the free trade agreement with China and South Korea, and the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership will definitely push Cambodia’s economic growth, Heng pointed out. This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources. Khmer Daily