By Mehmet Enes Beşer While the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area was once seen as a major step towards subregional economic integration in Indochina, it currently faces severe problems related to feasibility. Following reports that the country withdrew from the project, questions regarding its prospects for success emerge. Notwithstanding the relative lack of coverage given to this event in mainstream media, ...
By Mehmet Enes Beşer Cambodia’s newfound activism in its foreign affairs, including its rapprochement with the Western countries such as the United States, the European Union, and others, has sparked reflection on the possible foreign policy realignment of the Cambodian state. According to experts, increased support, the resumption of the highest levels of dialogue, and Phnom Penh’s receptivity to cooperation ...
What’s emerging now looks more like a state-led attempt to build the “rails” of development—physical and digital—so that the next cycle of growth is not only faster, but more controllable and more sophisticated. By Mehmet Enes Beşer This is a new era in Cambodia’s development trajectory in which the key signs are no longer factories and garments but rather big ...
Techo International Airport gives Cambodia the hardware. The next test is whether Cambodia can build the software. Techo International Airport is the kind of project Cambodia doesn’t get to build twice. A gateway of this kind, in this day and age, has the potential to change the way the country relates to the region, the way tourism is developed, and ...
Balancing Economic Growth with Sustainability By Mehmet Enes Beşer Cambodia stands at a pivotal moment in its development journey, striving to transition from a low-income to an upper-middle-income country by 2030. This ambitious goal necessitates not only rapid economic growth but also a focus on inclusivity, sustainability, and resilience. The nation’s trajectory is influenced by various factors, including economic diversification, ...
For China, the base is part of a strategic push for the development of a chain of strategic nodes in the Indo-Pacific. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base has emerged as a fulcrum of Southeast Asia’s geopolitically charged politics, the fine dance of great power politics and national interests. Bloating Cambodia-China relations at the base have surprised regional ...
By a wise and concerted effort, Cambodia can phase out US dollar dependence. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Cambodia’s economy is especially marked by the prevalence of the US dollar usage in conjunction with the country’s official currency, the Riel. Dollarization is a persistent economic issue that is both positive and negative to the country’s economic sovereignty and policy space. The ...
Despite its geographical proximity to China, which became the center of the new coronavirus’ spread in early 2020. The virus spread slowly in the region for the first two months of the year, but there has been explosive growth in cases since mid-March. Thailand: royal isolation In October 2019, Thailand was ranked sixth by the WHO in terms of preparedness ...