Hanoi (VNA) - The Cambodian National Assembly on May 30 ratified the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA) to boosttrade and investment in the area of services.
Some 98 lawmakers in attendance unanimously ratified thepact.
Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said the ATISAaims to strengthen economic linkages and provide greater opportunities foreconomic development in the ASEAN Economic Community.
It will reduce barriers to trade and investment in servicesand create a predictable business environment, he told the parliament,adding that it will also narrow development gaps among ASEAN member states toachieve a more equitable, balanced and sustainable socioeconomic development.
Nin Saphon, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Commissionon Public Works, Industry, Mines, Energy, Commerce, and Land Management, saidthe ATISA will underpin greater inclusion of small and medium enterprises intrade and investment activities and promote regulatory and human resourcedevelopment.
The agreement will deepen the integration of the servicessector and create a more liberal, stable and predictable environment forservice suppliers in the region, she added.
The ATISA, which was signed by ASEAN economic ministers in Jakarta,Indonesia, in October 2020, is considered a new step in ASEAN's integrationprocess of service. Upon coming into force, this agreement will replace the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), which took effect in 1995, with many new contents in the direction of openingup and liberalising services./.
