The Philippines and Cambodia have signed agreements to strengthen their bilateral trade, agriculture, tourism and other areas of cooperation, the countries’ leaders announced.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said Manila is open to Cambodian investors who are willing to explore business opportunities in the country.
On the other hand, Cambodia is looking forward to expanding bilateral ties and exploring more areas of cooperation with the Philippines, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet said.
The Cambodian leader said his country is particularly interested in supporting Manila’s bid to strengthen the agriculture sector and the food supply chain.
“To our friends from Cambodia, I wish to reiterate that the Philippines is open for business, and we welcome the opportunity to partner and achieve greater commercial successes with you,” Marcos said during a joint press conference in Malacañang.
He congratulated Manet for the success of the business forum led by the prime minister in Manila, which he facilitated on Monday.
The forum provided networking opportunities and a platform for discussing potential business collaborations and enhanced mutual understanding of each nation’s business environments and incentive schemes, the president said.
“I am confident that through this engagement, we will see more Filipinos investing in Cambodia, and more Cambodians investing in the Philippines,” Marcos added.
He acknowledged Cambodia as a crucial partner of the Philippines in ensuring food security, and welcomed the people-to-people collaborations between the two nations through various cooperation in the areas of technical vocational education and training, and in improving each nation’s tourism sector.
Marcos welcomed the formal collaboration on Information and Communications Technology and government digital transformation between Manila and Phnom Penh, as well as affirmed the Philippines’ commitment to a joint effort to prevent looting and trafficking of cultural properties.
Manet, on the other hand, said Cambodia stands ready to boost trade ties with Manila, as well as contribute and support the Philippines’ bid to improve its food security through the supply of rice and other products.
Manet said he alsolooks forward to increasing tourism exchanges between the two countries by expanding access for Philippine carriers to Cambodia through the Siem Reap-Angkor and Phnom Penh airports.
During Manet’s official visit, his first to the Philippines, he and Marcos witnessed the presentation of various agreements signed by their respective Cabinet officials.
The accords include the agreement on the Elimination of Double Taxation, which reduces tax burdens for investors from both countries to secure more bilateral investments; the Memorandum of Understanding on the Implementation of the Competition Law to boost inbound investments and promote a business-friendly environment; and the memorandum on Agricultural and Agribusiness Cooperation, covering agricultural planning and further enhancing international trade and agribusiness investments between the two countries.
The other agreements signed were the cooperation on Technical Vocational Education and Training a cooperation on the Implementation Program for Tourism in 2024- to 2028 to promote exchanges of knowledge and training of individuals.
Both countries also agreed to collaborate on Information and Communications Technology and government digital transformation through experts and training exchanges. They also agreed to renew their commitments toward defense cooperation, the prevention of looting, and the illicit trafficking of cultural properties.
The Philippines and Cambodia established diplomatic ties in 1957. Since then, the friendship between the two countries has further evolved in terms of bilateral cooperation, and within the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
