Kith Meng, president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) noted that 2025 marked a critical turning point for businesses in Cambodia, filled with both challenges and opportunities. Through joint efforts between the public and private sectors, he said, Cambodia has been able to create new pathways for its products on the international stage.
He shared his remarks as he addressed the closing ceremony of the CCC Annual General Meeting for 2025 Achievements & 2026 Strategic Direction, held in Phnom Penh on January 28.
Meng, who also chairs the ASEAN Business Advisory Council for Cambodia, said that despite challenges in 2025 arising from both global and domestic crises — including the Cambodia–Thailand border dispute — Cambodia’s economy maintained a solid growth rate of approximately 5%. He added that the private sector is fully prepared to cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce to ensure that the business environment and regulatory framework remain competitive and transparent.
“The year 2025 was … characterised by both challenges and opportunities. These challenges included geopolitical tensions, trade wars, the Russia–Ukraine armed conflict, issues in the Middle East and the Cambodia–Thailand border dispute. Nevertheless, through collective efforts, the CCC not only protected the interests of its members but also created new pathways for Cambodian products on the international stage,” he added.
He noted that the new year was not merely the start of a new fiscal year, but the beginning of a “new era” of economic development. During this phase, he explained, the CCC will prioritise supporting its members in adopting digital technologies to ensure that Cambodian entrepreneurs — from Phnom Penh to the provinces — can compete effectively in the digital marketplace.
Commerce minister Cham Nimul praised the leadership and members of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) for their dedication, responsibility and strong cooperation, which resulted in numerous major achievements.
She noted that the private sector has played a vital role in promoting Cambodia’s trade and driving national economic growth through increased investment, diversification of exports and imports, improved competitiveness, and deeper participation in regional and global value and supply chains. These efforts complement the government’s continued initiatives to further integrate Cambodia’s economy into regional and global markets, particularly through ongoing negotiations to open new market opportunities on both bilateral and multilateral fronts.
The minister also noted that alongside private sector efforts, the government — through the ministry — has undertaken numerous initiatives to create a more favourable environment for investment and export–import market diversification, guided by the principle of “strengthening existing markets and expanding into new markets.”
In 2025, the ministry completed procedures for ratification and signing of several free trade agreements, continued to address private-sector concerns through public–private dialogue mechanisms, advanced the modernisation and simplification of public services, and promoted the diversification, quality, and reputation of domestic products through intellectual property protection, she added.
“Our future direction is to ensure that key sectors are able to meet domestic supply needs, which requires the active participation of the private sector to work together effectively,” she said.
