Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Japanese business leaders on Thursday to invest more in one of Asia's poorest countries, which he said could make a new start as a country built on rich natural resources.
"Development of natural gas and mineral resources provide Cambodia with great potential and this means Cambodia will make a new start as a country founded by natural resources in the international community," he told Japanese business leaders.
Japan's direct investments in Cambodia stood at $4 million for the five years from 2002. "We will improve the environment for investments and I feel confident that investments by Japanese companies and investors will help the Cambodian economy grow stronger," Hun Sen said.
He said Japan's aid had helped Cambodia vastly improve its infrastructure in the last decade. Japan's aid grants to Cambodia amount to $1.17 billion since 1992 and Japan extended yen loans totalling $137 million in the same period, Hun Sen said.
Later on Thursday Japan signed a document to extend fresh aid grant worth up to 2.95 billion yen ($24 million) to Cambodia. Hun Sen said the Cambodian economy grew 13.5 percent in 2005 and 10.8 percent in 2006. Its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) nearly doubled to $513 in 2006 from $288 in 2000, and inflation remained below 3 percent between 2000 and 2006.
He said he would sign a bilateral investment pact with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day. "I certainly believe this pact will serve as a source of great confidence for those who invest in Cambodia ... This will open a new page for deep relations between Japan and Cambodia."
China had been investing in Cambodia more aggressively, he said. "Japan's investments are small relative to other countries," he said, but his country would deal with Japan and China equally. "The two countries are irreplaceable friendly countries of Cambodia." Japan's imports from Cambodia stood at 8.6 billion yen ($70.06 million) in 2005, while Cambodia's imports from Japan were 11.5 billion yen.
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