Cambodia determined to escape underdevelopment by 2027

Monday, June 5, 2023 14:35 (GMT+7)

(CPV) – On June 5, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen believes that this Southeast Asian country will escape the list of least developed countries by 2027 thanks to peace and political stability.

“I am very confident that Cambodia will graduate from the least developed country status by 2027 and achieve its goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the graduation ceremony of nearly 6,000 students at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh on June 5.

"Maintaining peace and political stability is the most important prerequisite to achieve these goals... Our country will escape the least developed status by 2027. Economic growth gives us the opportunity to achieve this goal," the Cambodian Prime Minister emphasized.

Mr. Hun Sen said that Cambodia's economy has shown good signs of recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, with GDP growth forecast at 5.6% in 2023, compared to 5.2% in 2022.

On the same day, foreign media quoted Deputy Minister and Spokesperson of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Penn Sovicheat as emphasizing that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement and the Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will help Cambodia escape the status of a least developed country, while achieving the goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030, and moving towards becoming a high-income country by 2050.

“RCEP, together with other bilateral FTAs, will not only boost Cambodia’s sustainable trade growth but also become a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment,” said Mr. Sovicheat.

In a report last week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted that after two decades in the list of least developed countries, Cambodia met the development criteria for the first time in 2021 and is on track to graduate from the list of least developed countries by 2027.

“This is a major achievement, as moving out of least developed country status means a country has achieved important economic and social development goals,” the ADB report stated./.

T.Lan (According to Xinhua, khmertimeskh)

Source link