Source: FN
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reminded the EU not to commit the third mistake against Cambodia referring to the EU’s decision to begin formal procedure for the temporary withdrawal of the Everything But Arms (EBA) preferences for Cambodia as lobbied by the opposition groups, speaking in meeting with more than 900 Cambodians in Switzerland on 23 October 2018.
“The first mistake was supporting coup in Cambodia during 1970s; the second was supporting Khmer Rouge for one decade, particularly supporting the Khmer Rouge to occupy the UN seat; and the third, even the EU just decided to set in motion the formal procedure, once realized, it will become the third mistake of EU’s democratic countries against Cambodia,” the premier stated.
The premier first told the EU to avoid such thing once in a courtesy call on representative of ASEAN-EU Business Council in his recent trip to Brussels.
EU has assisted Cambodia on all sectors, the premier said, if EU decided to withdraw EBA, EU will abandon everything they have done for Cambodia over the past years.
Head of the Royal Government of Cambodia Samdech Techo Hun Sen clarified that the EU’s decision is being used as a psychological warfare to attack the Royal Government of Cambodia.
“Nothing has been affected so far,” he reassured. Cambodia will soon lose EBA schemes when her economy reached high level, and that same goes to preferential interest rates (concessional rates) from donors and development partners of Cambodia.