PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- The European Commission says EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will travel to Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar next week as part of efforts to boost ties with ASEAN.
In a statement released late Friday, the commission said De Gucht would hold high-level talks with counterparts in each country during the four-day visit from March 17 to 20.
"I'm looking forward to constructive talks with our partners in Southeast Asia," the commissioner said.
WIN-WIN SITUATION
"Experience is showing how opening up to trade is helping these dynamic countries raise living standards. At the same time, their markets provide opportunities for European exporters, so we really do have a win-win situation."
In Cambodia, De Gucht is scheduled to meet Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol following this week's EU-Cambodia Joint Committee meeting in Brussels.
As a least developed country (LDC), Cambodia benefits from a scheme that gives duty-free access to the EU for exports of all products, except arms and ammunition.
The EU's merchandise trade with Cambodia reached €2.8 billion in 2013, up from €2.1 billion in 2012.
Cambodian exports to the EU rose by 30 percent from a year earlier to €2.4 billion last year, led by clothing (68.8 percent), footwear (12.9 percent), bicycles (10.3 percent), rice (5.2 percent) and sugar (1.6 percent).
With the exception of garments, the EU was Cambodia's biggest export market last year, the statement said.
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