US-Cambodia relations have never been better

Wednesday, 04 July 2012

Stuart Alan Becker

 

An American lawyer in Cambodia, Brett Sciaroni says the full spectrum of relations between the United States and Cambodia has never been better.

“This goes beyond the business relationships: diplomatic, political, economic relations are all very good between Cambodia and the United States,” Sciaroni said.

“If you take a look at diplomatic relations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Asia on her very first trip when she became Secretary of State. President Obama has been to Asia several times and this coming month will mark the second time in two years that Secretary Clinton has come to Cambodia. That’s significant,” he said.

Sciaroni, who heads one of Cambodia’s largest legal and consulting firms, Sciaroni & Associates, also serves as Chairman of the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC), a business association that has more than 80 company members, many of them global multi-nationals.

“This is part of the Obama administration’s pivot to Asia,” Sciaroni said. “Asia is the future. Economies here are robust and Cambodia is a beneficiary. The United States remains the number one engine for private sector growth in the world,” he said.

Sciaroni said Secretary Clinton, on her visit to Cambodia later this month, will spend a day in Phnom Penh at the ASEAN regional forum and then visit Siem Reap for a full day at an ASEAN conference with government officials and private sector representatives from all the ASEAN countries as well as officials from the United States government.

American business individuals, as well as Sciaroni, will attend the events.

“The meeting is being co-hosted by US Chamber of Commerce and US ASEAN business council. This shows the deepening relationship that US has with ASEAN in general and Cambodia specifically,” Sciaroni said.

“If you take a look at what’s going on in Cambodia, you can see the growth of American business here. Within the last year, Ford Motor Company has opened an assembly plant. Crown Cork is one of the biggest manufacturers of aluminum cans and has a $40 million plant in Phnom Penh and another one in Sihanoukville.”

“John Deere agricultural products, expensive American-made higher quality products are selling well in Cambodia. People see the quality the US produces. Burger King is coming here. Dairy Queen is expanding. General Electric is involved with health services,” he said.

Sciaroni said the US also has a deepening military-to-military assistance relationship with Cambodia.

“The USNS Mercy is coming next month to do another medical mission to Cambodia to help improve hygienic and medical standards,” he said.