AKP Phnom Penh, March 31, 2025 --

H.E. Mrs. CHAM Nimul, Minister of Commerce of Cambodia, met with co-facilitators of the Investment Facilitation for Development Initiative (IFDA), on the sidelines of Cambodia’s 3rd Trade Policy Review (3rd TPR) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland late last week.

The IFDA co-facilitators included H.E. João Aguiar Machado, Permanent Representative of the European Union to the WTO, and H.E. Salomon Eheth, Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the WTO, the Ministry of Commerce pointed out.

During the meeting, the source continued, the co-facilitators provided an update on the IFDA’s progress and emphasised that all members of the initiative would continue their efforts to incorporate the IFDA into the WTO framework.

According to the ministry, the IFDA aims to assist WTO members that are parties to the Agreement in enhancing their investment and business environment. It seeks to streamline processes for investors across all sectors, facilitate ease of investment, and support business operations and expansion among the parties.

Currently, 126 WTO members have participated in this initiative, of which 27 are least-developed members.

On the same day, the Cambodian commerce minister also received Mr. PAUL Akiwumi, Director for Africa, LDCs, and Special Programmes of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss cooperation between Cambodia and UNCTAD, including the organisation of workshops related to rules of origin, LDC graduation, and the formulation of Cambodia’s Trade Policy Framework toward 2030 for the Ministry of Commerce.

By C. Nika