Malaysia, Cambodia set up joint trade committee

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia and Cambodia on February 27 agreed to establish a Joint Trade Committee (JTC) this year to explore cooperation potential in trade, investment and tourism that will benefit both countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

At a press conference with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet, he said under this new trade mechanism, both countries would explore cooperation between the Customs Departments to facilitate the flows of goods.

He added that they will seek to open new flight routes to expand connectivity between the two countries.

Earlier, the two PMs witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in financial innovation and payment systems between Bank Negara Malaysia and the National Bank of Cambodia.

The MoU between the two central banks is meaningful because this has been one of the pillars in terms of dealing with the issue or problem with currency.

Anwar stressed that using local currencies will lessen the burden and the pressure of having to be tied only to the US dollar.

Cambodia was one of the first nations to establish diplomatic relations with Malaysia in 1957. In 2023, Cambodia was the 9th largest trading partner of Malaysia in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The value of bilateral trade between Malaysia and Cambodia stood at 3.02 billion RM (over 632 million USD), with exports from Malaysia reaching 2.35 billion RM, representing a 1.6% increase from the previous year.

Malaysian companies have implemented 162 projects in Cambodia with investments totaling 14.4 billion RM (3 billion USD)./.