Cambodia is due to host the 3rd Joint Working Group Meeting of the Cambodia-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Commission on September 7-8, which will focus on trade and investment cooperation.

Ministry of Commerce secretary of state Tek Reth Kamrong last week chaired an inter-ministerial meeting held to gather input on the draft joint statement of next month’s event.

She said the third iteration of the joint working group meeting “will cover a number of key areas, including trade and investment cooperation, digital economy and customs cooperation, the energy industry and infrastructure, science and technology, innovation, information and communication technology, technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, intellectual property, consumer protection and competition”.

First held in the Kingdom in 2017 and then the following year in Russia, the joint working group meeting is organised under the framework of a memorandum of understanding between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Eurasian Economic Commission – the executive body of the EAEU, signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

An economic union comprising five member states – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, the EAEU is home to 184.6 million people and represents a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $4.778 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund estimates for 2020.

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the EAEU was worth $67.37 million last year, increasing by 18.22 per cent over $56.98 million in 2019, according to data from the commerce ministry.

Of that, the Kingdom’s exports were worth $52.19 million, inching up by 0.73 per cent year-on-year from $51.81 million in 2019, and imported $15.18 million, rocketing by 193.57 per cent from $5.17 million.

Notable Cambodian exports to the EAEU include garments, footwear, milled rice, coffee, tea, fruits, vegetables, spices, tobacco, silk, rubber and furniture.