Schwab visits Cambodia, says progress is being made

Schwab visits Cambodia, says progress is being made U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab met with Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh last week in Cambodia to discuss ways to broaden and deepen bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries, Schwab's office said in a statement.
   The visit was the first to the country by a U.S. Trade Representative and included a bilateral meeting under the U.S.-Cambodia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. Under TIFA, Schwab and Prasidh discussed Cambodia's recent strong economic growth, its domestic reform agenda, and implementation of legal and trade reforms committed to under Cambodia's 2004 accession to the WTO.
   'Cambodia is working hard to put the right policies in place to support an open and welcoming environment for trade and investment,' Schwab said. '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 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 office said.