Thursday, 3 July 2008

Cambodia, Japan to finalize trade pact by end of July

www.chinaview.cn
2008-07-03

PHNOM PENH, July 3 (Xinhua) -- An investment protection agreement between Cambodia and Japan will finally come into force at the end of July after nearly a decade of negotiation and revision, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times said Thursday.

Diplomatic notes on the trade pact, labeled the Agreement for the Liberation, Promotion and Protection of Investment, were exchanged between the two nations in Phnom Penh on July 1 and will come into force on July 31, the paper quoted a Japanese Embassy statement as saying.

The agreement is expected to "improve Cambodia's investment environment and further strengthen the economic relationship between the two countries," said the statement.

Cambodia hopes the deal will attract investment from Japan which Prime Minister Hun Sen has personally visited 15 times, according to the paper.

The possibility of concluding an agreement on investment protection and promotion was first raised by the premier during his visit to Tokyo in 1999.

Japan, the world's second largest economy, lags behind other Asian countries in terms of investment.

Editor: Du Guodong

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