• Economics

ASEAN Bouncing Back from COVID-19: PM

• By Phoung Vantha
• November 10, 2022 11:00 AM

PHNOM PENH -- Prime Minister Hun Sen has opened the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit with an upbeat assessment of the prospects for growth in the bloc.

ASEAN had worked for nearly three years to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, he said.

Especially, it had implemented the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework to develop the digital sector and improve the business and investment environment.

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office had reported that the bloc achieved economic growth of 3.1% in 2021, the PM said. Growth of 5.3% and 4.9% were expected in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Hun Sen said ASEAN had achieved remarkable progress on 19 priority economic deliverables and that the COVID-19 crisis had lessened significantly globally.

However, he said, “The situation and the outlook for the global economy is still fragile and prone to new crises.

“We continue facing  new and increasingly complex challenges that are occurring one after another in economic, social, environmental and geo-political aspects.

“In this sense, ASEAN must continue adhering to the principles of the  multilateral trading system and enhancing trade liberalization  to promote ASEAN as an open, transparent and inclusive region.”

Hun Sen said Cambodia had adopted a new Law on Investment and set out a new framework for national recovery after COVID-19.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia has also been striving to increase investment in infrastructure development both physical and digital, to improve the quality of logistics services, to enhance the efficiency of public services, to promote skill development and to modernize the social protection system.”

Cambodia had also proposed an ASEAN Green Deal to reorient ASEAN toward a green future that was sustainable and economically competitive.