|
Assembly
OKs Philippine Trade Agreement
The
National Assembly has approved a trade agreement with the
Philippines, which lawmakers say will help Cambodia develop and
diversify its economy.
The
agreement, which will set up an independent arbitrator to settle
disputes between Philippine investors and Cambodian officials, will
make Cambodia's agriculture and tourist industries more attractive
to Filipino speculators, lawmakers said. The agreement sets up
bilateral investment laws between the two countries.
Parliamentarians
had voiced concern over Cambodia's economic dependent on the garment
industry, saying that over reliance on textiles will become worse if
Cambodia is left out of the World Trade Organization in 2005.
"If we cannot join the WTO by January 2005, we will have a
problem with the quotas on garment products," Sok Chenda Sophea,
secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia,
told legislators.
To
maximize the benefits of Asean's open markets, lawmakers said,
Cambodia must diversify its economy. The agreement, ratified Friday,
will help in that process, lawmakers said.
Opposition
leader Sam Rainsy said he agreed with diversification, development
is the main fore of economic growth and deserves attention.
During
discussions, Sam Rainsy also criticized Cambodia's so-called open
sky policy, which led to Siem Reap airport being opened for
international flights.
While supporters of the
policy claimed that giving tourists direct flights to Siem Reap
would help develop the tourist industry, Sam Rainsy said tourists
ought to be forced to fly into Phnom Penh first, thus ensuring
traffic in other destinations in the country.
Assembly
President Prince Norodom Ranariddh defended the policy, saying that
it has been a boon to the tourist industry.
By
Pin Sisovann |
