The visit was the first to the country by an US Trade Representative, and included a bilateral meeting under the US-Cambodia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

Under the TIFA dialogue, Ambassador Schwab and Minister Prasidh discussed Cambodia’s recent strong economic growth, its domestic reform agenda, and the implementation of legal and trade reforms committed to under Cambodia’s 2004 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Cambodia is working hard to put the right policies in place to support an open and welcoming environment for trade and investment,” observed Ambassador Schwab. “There has been real progress on the ground. We will continue to work together to build momentum to sustain these reform efforts.”

The two officials reviewed Cambodia’s current efforts to improve trade facilitation, protect intellectual property rights and enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of Cambodia’s investment climate.

Discussions focused on marking the progress that Cambodia is making in meeting the benchmarks for implementation of WTO-consistent trade practices, as well as highlighting areas where additional work remains to be done.

The two countries agreed upon a plan of action under the TIFA earlier this year, which will add momentum for trade-related reforms within Cambodia.

The two ministers also discussed their mutual interest in a successful conclusion to the WTO Doha negotiations, and the instrumental role that Cambodia can play as a least developed country (LDC) in contributing to that outcome.