Cambodia has become one of the success stories in Southeast Asia, for the way it handled the coronavirus pandemic. There were concerns regionally, given its level of development and the state of its healthcare system. Analysts credit the success to the government's highly-effective vaccination campaign. Rian Maelzer reports.
The buzz is well and truly back in Cambodia. For a country that relies on the tourism sector for about 1/5th of its GDP, it has been a rapid and remarkable turnaround.
RIAN MAELZER Phnom Penh "Months ahead of its Southeast Asian neighbors, Cambodia fully reopened its economy on November 1 last year and also removed all quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers."
- JOSEPH MATTHEWS Beltei International University, Phnom Penh "The leadership of Cambodia, they knew very well the only way out from this pandemic is vaccination, from very beginning. So prime minister Hun Sen, he was very effective, very decisive about it. And he mobilized every resources, material resources, human resources to make sure the maximum people get vaccinated. And also help and cooperation from China."
The government has been giving people fourth and even fifth shots to keep the COVID fight and economy on track.
JACK LEE Co-Owner, Smile Shop E-Commerce Platform "People here they're not worried, they're not scared of the virus. So they can restart the business normal as early as possible."
Chinese businessman Jack Lee co-founded an e-commerce platform with Cambodian partners. He's optimistic about the economic outlook, and especially a new growth area.
JACK LEE Co-Owner, Smile Shop E-Commerce Platform "You can see during the pandemic there are many engineers, they stay at home, they cannot go out to work. And they start up their own business especially digital pharmacy, digital grocery and food delivery, they promote Cambodia products through online platforms nationwide and globally."
The swift re-opening of borders has not only boosted tourism but also allowed investors back in, leading to a surge in FDI this year.
- JOSEPH MATTHEWS Beltei International University, Phnom Penh "In 2021 we have a 3.2 percent of the GDP growth. But now this year we are expecting that we have a 5.4 GDP growth."
Phnom Penh's skyline is testament to the economic progress Cambodia has made in recent years. Its effective containment of COVID-19 should bring it closer to achieving its goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by the year 2030. RM, CGTN, Phnom Penh.
Source: CGTN
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