The Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia and the British Embassy in Cambodia are co-hosting the 3rd Cambodia–UK Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF) in Phnom Penh. The forum serves as the main bilateral platform for policy dialogue and market access cooperation between Cambodia and the United Kingdom, bringing together public and private sector stakeholders to advance trade and investment relations.
For Cambodia, the timing of the forum is especially important. The country is preparing for its expected graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2029 and has recently announced its intention to apply for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). In this context, the JTIF allows Cambodia to demonstrate its readiness to work within higher-standard, rules-based trade systems. Discussions at the forum focus on turning opportunities into real trade and investment outcomes through regulatory cooperation, capacity building, and efforts to improve the use of market access. Special attention is given to reducing non-tariff barriers and making better use of existing trade frameworks, including the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which provides preferential access but involves rules and requirements that exporters must meet to benefit fully.
The forum also highlights the strengthening trade and commercial relationship between Cambodia and the UK. Since the Second JTIF in November 2024, both sides have improved coordination through policy working groups covering areas such as export facilitation, taxation, investment-related visa policies, customs cooperation, and capital market development. Business engagement has increased across sectors including financial services, manufacturing, agri-processing, technology, and legal and professional services. UK officials have also placed Cambodia within the UK’s wider engagement with Southeast Asia, noting the UK’s £57 billion annual trade relationship with ASEAN.
Beyond the bilateral level, the JTIF reflects Cambodia’s broader trade performance. According to the General Department of Customs and Excise, trade between Cambodia and the UK reached $1.069 billion in 2025, an increase of 5.7 percent from 2024. Exports to the UK total $1.015 billion, while imports stood at $54.5 million. These figures highlight Cambodia’s strong export orientation and the importance of improving competitiveness as the country moves toward a post-LDC future.
In this context, the Cambodia–UK JTIF represents an important step beyond expanding trade volumes. It reflects Cambodia’s gradual transition from preference-based integration toward engagement with higher-standard, rules-based trade systems. Going forward, the effectiveness of such platforms will increasingly depend on how policy dialogue translates into improvements in competitiveness, regulatory capacity, and firm-level readiness, particularly as Cambodia approaches LDC graduation and considers accession to agreements such as the CPTPP.