AKP Phnom Penh, February 21, 2025 --

H.E. Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), has emphasised the Royal Government’s commitment for economic diversification to attract more investment.
He made the remarks in his keynote address at a seminar on Cambodia's Diversification Pathways - Insights from International Experience, held here at Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh on Feb. 20.

The seminar was organised under the collaboration between the CDC and Australian Aid through the Cambodia Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAPRED) programme.

The event brought together key government officials including H.E. Vongsey Vissoth, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers; H.E. Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation; and H.E. Derek Yip, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, along with key academic figures, researchers and representatives of the private sector.

This high-level seminar is aimed to support the preparation and implementation of policies related to economic diversification in Cambodia.

It also provided an opportunity for policy debate and sharing of experiences from leaders of the Royal Government of Cambodia who play a key role in policy formulation, especially a presentation by Professor Ricardo Hausmann, a leading international expert on economic diversification.

In his address, H.E. Sun Chanthol outlined key reforms, policies and priorities to improve business and investment environment in Cambodia, stressing that economic diversification is essential to achieve Cambodia’s Vision 2050.

He also highlighted the positive potential of Cambodia, including young and dynamic workforce, government's support for the growth of private business sector through Government-Private Sector Forum, flexible and preferential investment procedures, and digitalisation in public service such as the Investment Project Management System (cdcIPM), which makes it easy for investors to apply for investment online.

Cambodia attracted 414 fixed-asset investment projects worth in total US$6.9 billion in 2024, up 40 percent from US$4.92 billion in the year before, according to a CDC’s report.

The new projects mainly focused on garment, travel goods, and footwear sectors, hotel development, hydroelectric power stations, freshwater ports, solar power plants, agriculture, amusement parks, car tire plants, special economic zones, infrastructure, and telecommunication, among others.

By Chea Vannak