Cambodia well prepared to cope with impacts of COVID-19, EBA's partial withdrawal: academics

Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-28 22:49:27|Editor: huaxia

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has been well prepared to cope with the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the European Union's partial withdrawal of Everything But Arm (EBA) trade preferences, academics said here on Friday.

Cambodia has allocated 1.16 billion U.S. dollars for health and social assistance as well as economic support after the onset of the COVID-19 earlier this year, and has unveiled a number of measures to support manufacturers and exporters after the EU partially withdrew the EBA from the kingdom.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on "How has Cambodia prepared itself for today and tomorrow?", Sok Touch, president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the government's measures were crucial to sustain socio-economic development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said to ensure a resilient economy during the post-pandemic era, the country must continue to maintain peace and political stability, increase local production for exports, develop human resources with quality, and revitalize tourism.

EU began to impose customs duties on some of Cambodia's typical export products such as garments, footwear and travel goods from Aug. 12 after accusing the country of human right violations.

With this partial imposition of tariffs, Cambodia will be required to pay 20 percent tax for exports to the European market with 80 percent of the items still being exempt from tax.

Kin Phea, director general of International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC), said that the kingdom was well prepared to deal with these issues, saying that the EU's decision was totally unfair.

Pich Charadine, deputy executive director of Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), said the partial withdrawal has affected Cambodia's economy, but the kingdom has been focusing on the economic recovery by diversifying its export markets.

"Cambodia has done a great deal to facilitate trade and reduce costs for businesses including the removal of Camcontrol along the borders, the launching of online business registration, the promotion of e-commerce, the development of digital knowledge and digital literacy," Charadine said.

"Nevertheless, to stay on the curve, Cambodia should put more effort and investment on the improvement of education quality, equal access to education, research and innovation, technical skill and vocational training in order to empower a skilled labor force," she said.

She added that the Southeast Asian nation also needed to revitalize its untapped yet high-potential agriculture sector by investing heavily in agribusiness and agro-processing industry and modernize its tourism industry into a green and sustainable tourism. Enditem

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