Experts Question New Trade Goal with Vietnam
Officials and experts yesterday questioned the likelihood of Cambodia and Vietnam’s proposal to hike bilateral trade by more than US$2.5 billion by 2015. The pledge of $5 billion in total trade, made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung, last week, reflected a similar Sino-Cambodian trade goal made at the beginning of April. Last week’s announcement, however, would be from a lower trade base and within a shorter period of time. … The figure proposed in Vietnam last week would be difficult to reach without an increase in competitiveness on the Vietnamese side, Cambodian Economic Association president Chan Sophal said yesterday. … Cambodia’s main exports to Vietnam were seafood, corn, dried tobacco and other agricultural goods. Vietnam exported iron, steel, garments and plastic materials to the Kingdom.
