(Video) Selected Comments Samdech Moha Bovor Thipadei Hun Manet, at the “official launch of the Association of Cambodian Investors Federations and solidarity dinner” [Unofficial translations]
(1) The Royal Government promotes development and improvement of living standards and transforms the country from national division to unity and integration with the world
The goal of the Royal Government in the last 45 years has been to promote the development of the country, improve the living standards of the people, and reunite our country – once divided in the bitter history of 500 years of death, destruction and disintegration – and strengthen together in the new era, re-integrating with the world and establishing good relations taking advantage to promote the development of the country and improve lives the people’s living condition […]
The five strategic development goals and concepts set out by the Royal Government are to promote economic growth, create more jobs, reduce poverty, strengthen institutional governance capacity to increase work efficiency and ensure development and sustainability. In all that, many of the directions and concepts and methods set by the Royal Government are to promote the private sector, which is an important driving force in the development of our country […]
(2) The private sector is an important player to help think, act and take responsibility in national economic development
The private sector is a very important player in the national economy of Cambodia, our Constitution adopts a free-market economy that guarantees private ownership and opens the freedom for people to do business as they wish. Within the legal framework to ensure the progress of all […] the Royal Government of the seventh legislative focuses on promoting the role and right of the private sector in Cambodia to participate in thinking, doing, and taking responsibility in the development of the national economy to enable Cambodia’s achievement of the vision of 2050, making the country become a high-income country and the living standard of the people of Cambodia improves continuously […]
(3) Six guarantees for the country to achieve the 2050 goal
In order for our country to achieve the goal of 2050, the duties and responsibilities of the Royal Government is – firstly, to ensure peace, security, and social stability; secondly, to maintain macroeconomic stability; thirdly, to support the free-market economy system by ensuring an effective and transparent legal framework and letters; fourthly, to set out a policy framework and provide incentives to the private sector; fifthly, to invest in human resources, both health and knowledge; and sixthly, to invest in key physical infrastructure, roads, water, electricity and now technology […]
(4) Maintain peace and social stability, macro-economic stability and economic growth, and provide incentive policies for the private sector
For more than eight months, the Royal Government has continued (1) to maintain peace and social stability. This is the biggest factor for Cambodia to have, (owing) especially (to) its 500-years history of disintegration and fragmentation. Therefore, the Royal Government has set its goal to absolutely guarantee peace and protect national unity from day one […] (2) to maintain the country’s macroeconomic stability and to strive for economic growth, […] whereas in 2023, Cambodia’s economy grew at 5%, and we expect it to continue to grow at a faster pace […]; and (3) to set out incentive policies for the private sector to ensure successful investment in an environment that is easy, low cost, and uncomplicated […]
(5) In the past 8 months, economic theory has been transformed into practical application
I have signed the establishment of a specialized school proposed by the Ministry of Education […] and agreed to allow vocational training centers in Cambodia. We will continue to provide encouragement to all of these trainings. The Ministry of Labor, in collaboration with the private sector, is operating to provide training, capacity building, and human resource skills. In these eight months, in these areas, we have fulfilled not only theory, but turned them from economic theory to practical achievements […] including the field of physical infrastructure.
We have done many things regarding human, and we are doing more in water, roads, electricity, technology […] on the marketing front, we have invited investors to come to get to know Cambodia and decide on investing in Cambodia to help boost the national economy. In the past eight months, I have been in contact with a lot of people. Next week I will go to South Korea and meet with the private sector there. Next month, when I go to Singapore for the official visit, I will continue to attract more investors there […] promoting and attracting investments is a sharp priority of Cambodia’s economic diplomacy in the new term […]
(6) Economic diplomacy strengthens state-to-state as well as people-to-people relations
[…] Economic diplomacy will strengthen state-to-state relations through trade promotion, but also strengthen people-to-people ties […] whether cultural, artistic or educational. The private sector plays an important role in establishing trade relations, people-to-people and business-to-business relations, which is an important factor in building ties between two countries […] Business has no politics […] Promoting economic relations is easier than promoting diplomacy or political relations […] If diplomacy has come to a problem, economic ties are a bond that maintains balance or prevents the eruption of something that seriously affects the interests of both peoples and countries through investors from both countries that are investing in each country. The main goal in boosting diplomacy in the economy of the government in the seventh legislative term is to promote and support bilateral relations […]
(7) “Keeping the old investors, expanding the new ones” approach
We have been using two approaches – “keeping the old investors and expanding the new ones.” While attracting new investments to Cambodia, the Royal Government has taken care to create favorable conditions for those investments that are already establishing in Cambodia to continue to make progress, to succeed and expand its capacity. This is what the Khmer say – “five birds in hand is better than 20 in the bush.” […] whether the investment is from local or abroad, we ensure the private sector, especially businesses and enterprises, operating Cambodia to be successful and to have growth. They have already created jobs and economic incomes for us. The new companies, though how big they may be, have not yet yielded. They are just dreams and hopes. Those who have been here are the ones who actually give us jobs and income for our people and for the national economy […]
(8) Care for existing investors to grow, create more jobs, increase economic income
We need to take care and nurture (the existing investors) for them to grow. If they grow up, they will create more jobs and increase incomes […] they set up branches, some of which can bring investments into other areas […] when those already invested in Cambodia are happy because they make progress, they are the biggest propagandist, a thousand times more effective than the government. Whether domestic or foreign investors, before making investment decision in Cambodia, they study the market, they go around asking, especially investors in similar fields, how it is to invest in Cambodia […] This is why we are applying the approach of keeping the old investors and inviting the new ones, to set a priority to help existing investors in Cambodia to be confident, warm, successful and invest more, so that they would call more to come […] I thank you – both foreign and domestic investors for investing and trusting in Cambodia, from which we are reached out about Cambodia […]
(9) Increase the positive factors through some intervening policies, reduce the negative factors through the private sector forum mechanism
To do this work (more effectively) we need to increase the positive factors and reduce the negative factors. We will increase the positive factors through the introduction of policies, incentives, favors, set out the budget to support the key areas that we have done, and through the introduction of some government intervention policies in this term […] we are reducing the negative factors (including providing) timely solutions to the challenges facing the private sector through the state and private-sector forum mechanism, through inter-sectoral working groups, on a regular basis. We are monitoring, resolving issues […] and I have recently set up a group to help intervene and address some of the issues in a tripartite manner […]
(10) “Think macro, act micro” … being in partnership, both partners – public and private – have to help each other
We create this mechanism to carry out task according to the “think macro, act micro” approach. We think of a common policy framework in each sector, but in the implementation, we must pay attention to each company, because each sector functions only when each company is successful […] In this sense, the Royal Government has set out strategies and action plans, and key tasks to determine the principles and successful implementation. Talking about state duty is one thing, helping each other as a partner is another […] it will work only when both partners help each other. The state alone cannot do it without the involvement of the private sector. The private sector has played many roles, but one of the important tasks to ensure sustainability and long-lasting existence is to participate honestly and transparently, and to implement it synchronously and with unity so that all the principles will be fulfilled with successes […]
(11) “In conformity with” means to adhere to the agreed principles
Some people take the word “in compliance with” as a pressure. They think about the customs. I would like to emphasize that the word “in compliance with” is to perform in conformity with the principles, plans, procedures, laws, regulations and contracts. What are the benefits of strengthening act of compliance? Strengthening compliance is the strengthening of order, transparency, security, a clear and easy business environment, building trust between the private sectors, public and private, and ensuring stable business environment […]
In business or among the private sectors, or like all other sectors, […] I would like to raise (this key matter here with) the private sector this evening. Only when the private sector joins the government (to carry out this task that it) will be possible and we have to jointly strengthen compliance. The word “compliance” means that everyone agrees to follow the principles that we have agreed upon so that we can compete tirelessly, make plan easily, build trust between the state and the private sector, between the private sector and the private sector […]
(12) The private sector implements self-improvement in accordance with the four approaches – bathing, mirroring, scrubbing and treatment
I am asking all to play a more active role to think together, to do together, and to implement and take responsibility. The state plays a supporting role. This is the kind of compliance I want to achieve – self-improvement. The state does not need to intervene. The private sector should practice the four approaches “to bath, look in the mirror, brush off dirt and take treatment” by themselves […] Only the private sector clearly knows what could be the solution to the private sector problem. (Members of) the Special Intervention Team (SIT) from the Prime Minister’s cabinet are not all civil servants. We have some civil servants, experts, but a large number of them are from the private sector who will be playing a role in helping solve the private sector’s problem […]
If this project or program works, we will expand it to follow the principles of thinking together, doing together, taking responsibility jointly whereby the state will provide rights and support to the private sector to solve more private sector problems. The state does not act as a catcher or the one to make a fine to ensure compliance but the private sector itself should jointly improve each other and together to make this effective […]
As the head of the Royal Government, I have set out the principles and commitments to do my best to make investors in Cambodia more competitive and successful. Cambodia is open and Cambodia is launching programs and policies to make it more attractive. Maintain the old investors, welcoming the new ones will be a way to solve problems in a timely manner and continue to improve […]./.
