Multilateral, bilateral FTAs expand Cambodia's market access, deepen integration: minister

PHNOM PENH, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have expanded Cambodia's market access and deepened its integration into regional and global value chains, a senior minister said here on Wednesday.

Cambodia is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, and has bilateral FTAs with China, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sok Siphana, a Cambodian senior minister in charge of special missions of multilateral trade and economic affairs, said Cambodia had achieved a great deal in the field of international trade over the past three decades.

"From a largely agrarian economy emerging from conflict and isolation, we have become an increasingly open and trade-oriented country, participating in the AFTA, the ASEAN-led framework agreements with dialogue partners, the RCEP, and bilateral frameworks that have expanded our market access and deepened our integration into regional and global value chains," he said at a trade workshop here.

"Our garments, footwear, and travel goods industries have employed over a million Cambodian workers and generated a lot of export revenue. More recently, our agricultural exports, rice, cashew nut, cassava, and fresh produce, have found growing markets across the region and beyond," he added.

Siphana said that as Cambodia is expected to graduate from its least-developed country status in 2029, the preferential arrangements that have supported the kingdom's export growth will diminish, so FTAs are crucial to boost its sustainable long-term trade growth.

Cambodia's international trade volume hit 23.4 billion U.S. dollars during the January-April period of 2026, a year-on-year rise of 19.9 percent, according to the latest report from the General Department of Customs and Excise.

The Southeast Asian country's top five trading partners are China, the United States, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand, the report said.