Trade Policy Advisory Board, British Embassy and UKTPO Launch Report to Support Cambodia's LDC Graduation and Trade Transition

By
on
Trade Policy Advisory Board, British Embassy and UKTPO Launch Report to Support Cambodia's LDC Graduation and Trade Transition
Trade Policy Advisory Board, British Embassy and UKTPO Launch Report to Support Cambodia's LDC Graduation and Trade Transition./B2B Asia News.

The Trade Policy Advisory Board (TPAB), in collaboration with the British Embassy in Cambodia and the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO), organised the launch ceremony of 'The Regulatory Gap Analysis of Selected Trade Agreement Chapters to Support Cambodia's LDC and Trade Transition' report on April 24, 2026.

The ceremony was presided over by H.E. Dr Sok Siphana, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Missions in Multilateral Trade and Economic Affairs, Chairman of TPAB, and Chairman of the CPTPP Study Working Group, and was attended by H.E. Dominic Williams, British Ambassador to Cambodia, senior government officials, representatives of ministries and institutions, diplomatic corps, and development partners, key private sector stakeholders and students.

The report, produced by the UKTPO, aims to support Cambodia's transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, strengthen its capacity to engage with high-standard trade agreements, and identify regulatory reforms needed to align with international trade obligations under frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the high standard Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). 

H.E. Dr Sok Siphana speaking at the report launch ceremony./B2B Asia News.
H.E. Dominic Williams speaking at the report launch ceremony./B2B Asia News.

The workshop opened with welcome remarks from the British Ambassador, who highlighted the deep and growing trade ties between the United Kingdom and Cambodia, the role of the British Chamber of Commerce (BritCham) Cambodia in strengthening trade and investment ties, and the United Kingdom's commitment to supporting Cambodia through its LDC graduation, including through technical assistance on the CPTPP. Ambassador Williams expressed hope that the report would guide Cambodia's reform agenda and contribute to the long-term prosperity of the Cambodian people. 

Building on this, in his opening remarks, Dr. Sok situated the report within the wider context of the global trading system, drawing on his participation at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon. He noted that while the WTO remains important, its influence has been weakened by the paralysis of the Appellate Body and stressed that Cambodia must build the institutional and technical capacity needed to play an active role in future world trade negotiations, including with high-standard free trade agreements such as the CPTPP. He further highlighted the growing role of technology, AI, and other important factors in shaping international trade and called on Cambodia to be an energetic and constructive participant in WTO reform efforts. 

Dr Minako Morita-Jaeger and Achyuth Anil presenting research findings from the report./B2B Asia News.
Panel discussion held at the report launch ceremony./B2B Asia News.

 The workshop featured a presentation of the research findings by Dr Minako Morita-Jaeger, Senior Research Fellow in International Trade at the University of Sussex Business School, and Achyuth Anil, Research Assistant in International Trade Law at the University of Sussex. Their presentation assessed regulatory gaps in the CPTPP's e-commerce and environment chapters relative to Cambodia's existing legal framework, identifying data governance and fisheries management as the most significant compliance risks, and recommended targeted regulatory reforms to support Cambodia's CPTPP accession readiness. 

A panel discussion followed, moderated by Kenn Especkerman-True, Regional Director in Economic and Trade Policy for Southeast Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, and featured H.E. Kong Phallack, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC), and Yourk Sothearith, Deputy Director of the Biodiversity Department at the Ministry of Environment. 

The discussion focused on the practical implications of the report's findings for Cambodia's regulatory reform agenda, with panellists sharing perspectives on the opportunities and challenges associated with aligning Cambodia's legal and institutional framework with the high-standard requirements of the CPTPP across areas including digital economy governance, environmental regulation, and human capacity development. 

On the margins of the workshop, Dr. Sok held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Dominic Williams and Kenn Especkerman-True to further discuss areas for strengthening UK-Cambodia trade cooperation, including ongoing and prospective technical assistance to support Cambodia's CPTPP accession readiness and its broader post-LDC trade transition strategy. 

This article was adapted from a supplied press release.