Turkey, Cambodia aim to boost trade to US$1 billion
BANGKOK: Turkey and Cambodia have agreed to increase bilateral trade to US$1 billion in the near future, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday, days after a meeting in Brussels where he failed to allay European Union criticism of authoritarianism.
The European Union began a formal procedure this month to strip Cambodia of its special trade status following a July general election that returned Hun Sen to power after 30 years in office.
Talks between Hun Sen and the EU's top diplomat at the weekend failed to avert the threat of dutyfree trading access suspension.
Hun Sen flew to Turkey after his Brussels visit and met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
“The two leaders agreed to increase bilateral trade between Turkey and Cambodia to US$1 billion in the short future,” Hun Sen said in a post on his Facebook page on Monday, adding that Cambodia will open an embassy in Turkey in 2019.
Bilateral trade was worth US$108 million in 2015, the Turkish foreign ministry said on its web site.
Turkey opened its Cambodian embassy in Phnom Penh in 2013.
“Cambodia and Turkey have a strong and cooperative relationship,” Hun Sen added.
The two leaders signed eight memorandums of understanding (MoU) including in the areas of education and agriculture. — Reuters