KHMER TIMES



 

Sok Chenda Sophea, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, and Masahiro Mikami, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, chaired the 23rd Meeting of the Cambodia-Japan Joint Committee with the participation of Kong Vibol, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister and Director-General of the General Department of Taxation, as well as leaders and representatives of relevant ministries and agencies, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Foreign Trade Organization Japan (JETRO), Japan Business Association of Cambodia (JBAC), and a total of 130 representatives of Japanese companies operating in Cambodia.

This bilateral meeting is part of the Liberalisation, Promotion and Protection of Investment, which has been established since 2009 under the framework of the Agreement between Cambodia and Japan.

This meeting provided an opportunity for Japanese investors to raise challenges and suggestions to the Royal Government.

Topics discussed in this 23rd meeting include: (1) – Payment of seniority benefits (2) – Withholding tax on salary and value added tax refund (3) – Logistics (Accelerating the operation at the Thai-Vietnamese border) (4) – Reducing electricity prices and power outages) and (5) – Importing cars by unauthorized persons.

 

Sok Chenda Sophea expressed his deepest condolences upon the news of the death of Koji Kanzaki, a Japanese citizen who spent about 38 years of his life strengthening ties between Japan and Cambodia,  participating in the construction of schools, hospitals and physical infrastructure in Cambodia.

He mentioned the better relations that have been confirmed through the meetings between the leaders of the two countries, such as the telephone conversation between the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Japan on December 1, 2021 and the meeting between Hun Manet and Japanese leaders during a visit to Japan this week.

He reiterated his deep gratitude to the Japanese investors for their continued trust in the Royal Government of Cambodia under the wise leadership of the Prime Minister in ensuring peace, political stability, which is necessary to create the environment. Favorable investment.

 

Mr Sok Chenda also  highlighted the new Investment Law of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which was recently approved and promulgated on October 15, 2021, which is becoming another strong legal basis of Cambodia to attract Invest and promote economic recovery after the Covid-19 crisis.

He also thanked JETRO and Mizuho Bank for their responsible participation in organizing a successful seminar on new investment laws for Japanese investors and achieved fruitful results on November 11, 2021.

In addition, the Minister highly appreciated the investment activities of all Japanese investors in the non-textile manufacturing sector, which has played an important role in contributing to the diversification of the Cambodian economy and human resource development in Cambodia.

Masahiro Mikami expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all relevant ministries and institutions for their past efforts with a high sense of responsibility in coordinating and providing quick response to concerns and requests and  for providing excellent care and warmth to Japanese investors.

 

He stressed the need to continue good the cooperation between Cambodian government institutions and Japanese investors to achieve success in business and investment activities in Cambodia, which will play a positive role in attracting Japanese investors to invest more in Cambodia.

The Ambassador expressed his commitment to continue to cooperate with the Royal Government of Cambodia in promoting and attracting direct investment from Japan to Cambodia towards the economic progress and prosperity of both countries.

As of the end of January 2022, the Council for the Development of Cambodia welcomed and registered 147 investment projects from Japanese companies with a total investment capital of about $2.9 billion.