PHNOM PENH, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Monday organized a national consultation workshop on economic diplomacy in the new normal, aiming at promoting the effective implementation of the strategy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
Supported by the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund, the hybrid workshop was attended by some 170 stakeholders in person and dozens of the country's ambassadors and consuls-general abroad via video link.
Ouch Borith, minister attached to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and foreign ministry's standing secretary of state, said the economic diplomacy strategy (2021-2023) was essential to help develop the country's economy.
"The strategy is crucial to help boost the economic growth, to reduce reliance on external aid, and to promote the interest of Cambodia in the region and in the world," he said.
Borith added that the strategy was designed to attract more foreign direct investment, to further boost bilateral and multilateral trade growth, and to lure more tourists to the Southeast Asian nation.
"Taking this opportunity, I'd like to express my profound thanks to the people and government of China for having provided a great amount of assistance to Cambodia for national development in the regional, sub-regional, LMC, and bilateral frameworks," he said.
Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian was confident that the economic diplomacy strategy would inject a new impetus into Cambodia's economic recovery in the post-pandemic.
"As the COVID-19 situation in Cambodia has been brought under effective control, with zero new cases and zero active cases, and more than 94 percent of its population have been vaccinated, I believe that the Cambodian economy will recover fast from the pandemic," he said.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Wang also highlighted close ties between China and Cambodia, saying that bilateral relations have currently hit an all-time high in history. ■