In his first public international appearance since becoming Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, the 45-year-old leader who replaced his father Hun Sen after controversial elections, outlined his ambitious vision.
Speaking on the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2023 within the Indonesian capital (4/9), he outlined his plan to make Cambodia a high-income country by 2050.
The newly implemented National Economic Vision goals to take care of hard-won peace and speed up national development to realize high-income country status by 2050. Manet the Hun distinguished himself as a pacesetter along with his determination to face challenges and achieve ambitious goals for his country’s future.
Hun Manet outlined a plan to bring his country to high-income status by 2050, which he called the “Pentagon strategy.” This plan includes quite a few strategic actions, including human capital development; economic diversification; increased competitiveness; private sector development and job creation; strong, sustainable and inclusive development; and the event of the digital economy and society.
While peace, political stability and security remain essential to the event process, Hun Manet also emphasized the vital role of the private sector in driving Cambodia’s prosperity. He stressed that his government prioritizes improving the business and investment climate to support sustainable economic growth.
After many years of conflict, Cambodia has transformed right into a lower-middle-income country with a formidable economic growth rate of around 7%.
Recognizing that increasing geopolitical competition amongst major powers is putting pressure on ASEAN’s peace, security and overall prosperity, Hun Manet presented this vision ahead of the annual ASEAN Summit. This vision demonstrates Cambodia’s determination to shape a greater and more competitive future.
Cambodia itself has played a significant role in promoting and participating in peace and security issues on the regional and global levels for the reason that previous government led by Hun Sen. In light of this history, Hun Manet has demonstrated his commitment to a multilateral system and a rules-based international order, while demonstrating his willingness to cooperate with ASEAN member states. This confirms that Cambodia continues to play an energetic role in efforts to take care of global stability and peace.
Recognizing the principle that peace can’t be achieved through armed conflict, Hun Manet called on ASEAN and the international community to unite in rejecting threats of violence against independent states. He stressed the importance of ASEAN and the UN upholding the values of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stressed the importance of non-interference within the country’s internal affairs.
