Cambodia signs MoU on agricultural development with Chinese firm

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agricultural development with a Chinese company from East China's Shandong province on Wednesday.

The deal was inked between Veng Sakhon, Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, and Shen Chen, chairman of Tian Rui (Cambodia) Agricultural Cooperation Special Economic Zone.

Shen said the company has planned to invest about $2 billion in developing a 300-hectare Special Economic Zone in western Kampong Speu province, in which storage facilities, packaging factories, and processing factories for agricultural products will be built.

"Under the MoU, the company will update the ministry about the types of agricultural products that are in high demand in Chinese market, so the ministry can advise farmers to grow those kinds of crops and sell them to our company," he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

He said the firm would also cooperate with the ministry to establish an Agricultural Research and Development Center and a Center for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Control.

Shen added that the company would try to attract more Chinese enterprises to invest in agricultural processing factories in its special economic zone.

Meanwhile, Veng Sakhon said the cooperation between the ministry and the company would contribute to developing Cambodian agriculture under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

"The company will also help boost the exports of Cambodian agricultural products to international markets, particularly Chinese market," he said.