Subhechcha Ganguly 
In order to take advantage of Cambodia’s potential as a gateway to ASEAN through a number of significant free trade agreements and initiatives that are being worked on by the leaders of the two countries, the Indian ambassador to Cambodia has urged Indian investors to grasp commercial possibilities in Cambodia.
Devyani Khobragade said both countries have experienced strong political connections, which has led to economic and commercial progress, on August 24 during a Cambodia-India business event.
“To further increase and diversify trade between our countries, both sides are also thinking about a preferential trade pact. The ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement, which she mentioned, “provides Indian companies with a very suitable environment to export and promote the export from Cambodia to the rest of ASEAN, and I would like to add that as well,” she said.She added, “I always ask our business colleagues not to look at Cambodia as a country with a 17 million population, but rather to look at Cambodia as your stable and friendly gateway to ASEAN.”
In the context of India, Cambodia is a significant partner, according to Ashwini Kumar Rath, CEO of Batoi Systems Pvt Ltd, as both countries have been enhancing their collaboration in institutional capacity-building, human resource development, and financial resource assistance.”We think that Cambodia’s expanding manufacturing sector and economy will provide value to the Indian market. India has made considerable progress in the digital arena, as is well known, and one area I would encourage our firms to look into is how we can position our products to connect the Indian economy to the economies of the rest of the region and the world, according to Ashwini, who led the Indian delegation.
Son Senghuot, secretary of state for the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, said during the discussion that the country’s priority has been on sustaining sustainable development and economic growth ever since the pandemic.According to the scenario, he claimed, “the government has identified small and medium-sized businesses as a priority sector, which has a significant potential to revive the economy.”The General Department of Customs and Excise revealed that exports from Cambodia to India increased 64.2% to USD91.5 million in the first four months of 2023 from USD55.7 million a year earlier.India ranks as Cambodia’s 18th-largest commercial partner for the time period, accounting for 1.1%, 1.3%, and 0.9% of the country’s exports (USD7.2 billion) and imports (USD15.2 billion) respectively.
