British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Visit To Cambodia - Two-Way Opportunities
Dominic Williams, the current British Ambassador to Cambodia, has been escorting the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Heather Wheeler MP on a second visit to the Kingdom within 6 months, which he says is a sign of the commitment to growing the UK-Cambodia trading relationship.
The three-day visit saw them attend a number of ongoing projects which involve or have the potential to involve UK investments. Cambodia was the UK’s 96th largest trading partner by the end of Q3 2023 and only accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of total UK trade.
UK-Cambodia Trade 2023
The Department for Business and Trade Cambodia (DBT) February 2024 report stated that the total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Cambodia was worth £829 million in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023 (around one billion USD) which represented a decrease of 4.6 per cent compared to the same period a year before (Q3 2022 - Q3 2023).
- Total UK exports to Cambodia amounted to £147 million - an increase of 3.5 per cent
- Total UK imports from Cambodia amounted to £682 million - a decrease of 6.2 per cent
The Cambodian General Department of Customs and Excise reports the 2023 calendar year trade as being USD $872 million in 2023 with a 10.7 per cent decrease. The UK is an important market for Cambodia, particularly for its garment, footwear, and bicycle exports, benefiting from special tariff conditions and providing access to the EU market.
In April 2023, Cambodia started benefiting from the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). The top 5 goods exported by the UK to Cambodia in the above-mentioned period, were Cars, Animal feed, Metal working machinery, Specialised machinery, and General industrial machinery.
The top 5 goods imported by the UK from Cambodia were; Clothing, Footwear, Cereals, Travel goods & handbags etc, and other consumer products.
Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF)
The Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia and the Ministry of Business and Trade of the United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF) in May 2023, and the visiting British delegation met with Minister of Commerce HE Cham Nimul about plans to expand two-way trade.
Williams said online that the meeting discussed "significant progress on improving the business environment" and they welcomed
- Plans to introduce clearer guidance and procedures for taxation.
- To introduce a legal purchasing age for alcohol.
- To establish investor visas (he did not clarify this and it could refer to the newly announced plans for Sihanoukville).
- The British Investment Partnership (BIP) and the utilisation of DCTS were discussed.
A second JTIF is planned for 2024.
Education Opportunities For The UK
The ambassador also confirmed that the University of Puthisastra had signed an MoU with Teesside University in the UK and an agreement to provide a pathway for study at a range of UK universities. The delegation also visited Sisowath High School in Phnom Penh "to learn about the impact the British Everybody Counts EdTech app is having on mathematics teaching in the state school sector" in Cambodia.
- It was also reaffirmed that the first UK University campus - De Montfort in Cambodia - will be opening soon.
- A meeting with Paul Turner, the Director of Cambodia Oxford Medical Research Unit (COMRU), and his medical team at Angkor Hospital for Children discussed the role of UK education, science, and research in developing human capacity in Cambodia and the potential for exporting medical technology to Cambodia.
- PM Trade Envoy Heather Wheeler MP also met with Scotch Whiskey distributor Pernod Ricard Cambodge to understand how they ensure that alcohol is promoted responsibly said the British Embassy to Cambodia.
Mine Clearance Support
During the visit, a press release confirmed that the UK has committed a further USD $3.8 million in funding for mine clearance in Cambodia for partners MAG Cambodia and HALO Trust Cambodia. The funding includes risk education programmes in Cambodia.
Tourism - Attracting UK Tourists to Cambodia
On her visit, MP Wheeler visited the under-construction new Phnom Penh International Airport - Techo Takhmao International Airport - which is designed by London-based Foster + Partners, as well as the newly operational Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport. Dominic Williams said that other UK infrastructure firms such as Arup Gleeds Aedas and Farrells are interested in Cambodian projects.
On her visit to Siem Reap, Heather Wheeler MP met with H.E. Ok Darariddh, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia, at the Angkor National Museum to discuss ways the UK could assist in boosting the country's tourism sector. In total, 65,000 British nationals visited the Angkor Temple complex near Siem Reap in 2023.
There are currently no direct flights between the UK and Cambodia.
Britain in South East Asia | BiSEA - Siem Reap 2024 Meeting
The annual meetup of the British Chambers of Commerce across South East Asia (BiSEA) concluded the trip in Siem Reap. BritCham hosted the event, and David Kelly (Executive Director of BritCham Singapore) key economic takeaways from their trip were summarised as:
- Cambodia is welcoming, open for business, friendly and well-connected.
- The Kingdom's IMF forecast for 2024 is 6% GDP growth with a planned rebasing of GDP expected to see a 30% rise.
- New UK partnerships in education are taking place.
- The new green strategic infrastructure partnership with Cambodia is opening up new opportunities for sustainable investment and UK expertise.