Funan Techo Canal Helps Cambodia Escape Vietnamese Commercial Pressure
Chhay Bora is a government affairs and public policy expert. Bora is the managing director of the strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia’s (BGA) Cambodia office. Photo provided.
- By Chhay Bora
- April 27, 2024 8:00 PM
The Cambodian economy will run much more efficiently once construction of the Funan Techo Canal is completed. Cambodian farmers will no longer depend on selling agricultural products exclusively to Vietnamese traders, who often purchase agricultural products at below-market value, and will have the ability to increase their profit margin.
Before long, Cambodia will stand out as one of the fastest-growing and most sustainable and resilient economies in the world.
The canal will boost Cambodia's export volume, facilitate the transport of domestically made products and help the country diversify its trading partners, and to recover from the economic pressure that has always been insulted by Vietnamese traders and authorities.
The government should fast-track the construction and restoration of the ancient Funan Canal, which will deliver long-term economic benefits and accelerate Cambodia's graduation to an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.
For its part, Vietnam should immediately stop interfering in Cambodia's internal affairs.
Hanoi must abide by the principles set out in the Vietnam-Cambodia joint statements of 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, which pledge mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country, noninterference in each other's internal affairs and a commitment to resolve all issues peacefully and amicably.
