Cambodia is keen on boosting agricultural trade with Vietnamese firms by expanding existing projects in rubber plantations and attracting new companies by establishing agricultural communities and cultivation to improve the quality of crops.

Prime Minister Hun Manet on December 12 received a courtesy visit from a delegation led by Tran Cong Kha, Chairman of the Board of the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) in Hanoi.

Kha highlighted the VRG’s contribution to enhancing the construction of infrastructure in the nation such as schools, pagodas, health centres, roads and local community development as well as providing training sessions to boost human resources and skills in the rubber industry.

He appreciated the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), relevant ministries, institutions and local authorities for facilitating the company’s operations from the beginning until the company had grown strong and been able to contribute to the economic development of the country.

Mr Hun Manet appreciated the VRG management team for their investment in Cambodia as well as the import of new technologies in the agro-industrial sector which has helped to improve the quality of products and human resource capacity in this sector.

He committed to supporting the direction and decision of the company in expanding investment in Cambodia for mutual benefit.

“RGC is not only focused on attracting new investments but will continue to provide necessary guidelines and protection to all existing investment projects in Cambodia,” the Premier said.

Mr Hun Manet also highlighted the priority policy of RGC in promoting the agricultural sector through the introduction of mechanisms for the establishment of agricultural communities and cultivation aiming to ensure productivity with high quantity and quality to serve the export of raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products to the international markets.

On the last day of the trip, Mr Hun Manet received a courtesy call from Tran Ba Duong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Truong Hai Group Corporation (THACO) and the delegation aiming to transform family farming into strategy farming to serve export purposes.

During the discussion, Duong raised the project activities of the company in Cambodia, especially the cultivation of fruit crops, industrial crops, processing plants and animal husbandry as well as the direction to further expanding investment which could contribute to the economic growth while creating jobs for the local people as well.

The Premier appreciated the company’s contribution and investment to strengthen the agricultural sector which is in line with the RGC strategy to set out the direction to turn family farming into a strategy farming for higher value-added exports.

Mr Hun Manet recalled some good strategies related to trade and investment facilitation presented during the 19th Royal Government-Private Sector Forum on November 13 aimed at addressing challenges and obstacles faced by the private sector to attract more investments from both domestic and foreign sources.

Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) is a Vietnam-based company active in the rubber industry primarily engaged in rubber plantation and the production of latex and rubber products, mostly for mechanical uses. The company is also involved in forest nurseries and timber tract operations.