AMBASSADOR INSIGHT

H.E. Mr. Meas Kim Heng

THIS year a very special one for me since it is my first time to visit Ireland and to assume my duty as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Ireland.Cambodia and Ireland enjoy a warm friendship and co-operation. Ireland has contributed to peace and development in Cambodia. We are very grateful for that. Furthermore, there are currently many Irish tourists visiting Cambodia and bilateral trade between the two countries keeps increasing every year. These contribute to the strengthening of friendly relations between our two countries. Strategically located in Southeast Asia and as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Cambodia now enjoys political stability and high economic growth at the rate of over 7pc per year.

These factors have created favourable conditions for Cambodia to offer a lot of opportunities for Irish businesses in many sectors. Four priority sectors have been encouraged by Government: education, electricity, road and water. There are other sectors with potential such as garments, textiles, tourism, services, construction, agriculture, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, engineering, and machinery. I firmly hope that Irish business people will look for the opportunity to invest in Cambodia – investing in Cambodia means investing in ASEAN as a whole.By the end of this year the ASEAN community will have established its own single market with a population of over 600 million. I am pleased to note that Irish companies are strong in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, business technology and communications. We look forward to welcoming them to choose Cambodia as a gateway for ASEAN and beyond.

For Membership queries, please contact:

Martin Murray

Executive Director

martin.murray@asiamatters.eu

For Partnership queries, please contact:

Samantha Hobbs

Director of Corporate Affairs

samantha.hobbs@asiamatters.eu