Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday his country hopes to draw more investment from South Korea by taking advantage of a double taxation avoidance pact between the two sides.

Meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae, he stressed that bilateral relations are continuously developing as shown in the signing of the pact and an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters last November.

“Especially, I am happy that the two nations signed the double taxation avoidance pact. I hope that it will serve as a chance for more (South Korean) investors to come to Cambodia,” he told Moon via a translator.

He asked Moon to encourage more South Korean firms to do business in the Southeast Asian country while speaking in front of pool reporters at the outset of their meeting.

  The prime minister also noted that Cambodia began exporting mango products to South Korea at the start of this year.

Moon agreed that bilateral ties are continuing to strengthen on the basis of the firmer systemic foundation.

The two nations also launched a joint study on the possibility of a bilateral free trade agreement last November.

Two-way trade volume rose to US$1.3 billion in 2019 from $870 million two years earlier, according to the Korea International Trade Association.

Moon said South Korea will cooperate with Cambodia on its plan to host an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit later this year.

He also requested Cambodia‘s support for South Korea’s hosting of the second P4G summit in June. P4G stands for Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, a public-private initiative to tackle climate change and other sustainable development challenges.

Cheong Wa Dae characterized the Moon-Hun Sen session as a “meeting,” not summit talks. The prime minister is on a visit here to attend a forum.

He was scheduled to participate in the South Korea-ASEAN special summit that took place in Busan last year. But he canceled the trip, citing the illness of his mother-in-law. (Yonhap)