Cambodia's WTO Accession: Risks and Benefits

Background and Broad Messages

The completion of negotiations and the expected endorsement of Cambodia’s entry into the World Trade Organization are substantial milestones not only for the Cambodian economy but for all Least Developed Countries that seek to leverage the benefits of trade.  These countries understand the lesson of the past two decades: integration with the world economy works for development.  Those with the highest trade to GDP ratios, let’s call them the “integrators,” grew their GDPs on average 3.5% per year in the 1980s and 5.0% per year in the 1990s, while the “Non-integrators” grew just 0.8% in the 1980s and 1.5% in the 1990s. 

WTO is an institution that derives its strength from the commitment of its members to managing trade with a common set of values: openness, transparency, predictability, non-discrimination/multilateralism and a rule-based dispute resolution.  If you think about these values, they are many of the same that Cambodia is trying to instill throughout its economic and social development. Joining WTO improves market access, and also sends a strong signal to trade and investment partners about Cambodia’s future direction.  More (23kb pdf)

Cambodia's Transformation and Growth (video documentary)

The Government of Cambodia, the Bank's Country Office and WBI produced a documentary video (available on DVD) on the country's transformation and accession to WTO. This is in line with the article "Mainstreaming Trade for Poverty Alleviation: A Cambodian Experience" written by Mr. Sok Siphona, Cambodia's Secretary of State for Commerce in the Development Outreach issue for July 2003.

Cambodia is not only the first Least Developed Country (LDC) to have acceded to the World Trade Organisation, but also a champion in mainstreaming trade in development strategies. As one of the fastest-growing garment exporters over the last eight years, trade is at the centre of Cambodia s Socio-Economic Development Plan and Poverty Reduction Strategy, and the Governance Action Plan.

Jointly produced by the Ministry of Commerce and the World Bank, and co-sponsored by the UNDP, this documentary captures the dramatic transformation of Cambodia from a war-torn "killing field" to a fast growing and exporting economy - open to international trade and business investment. It highlights the challenges faced by a low-income country in the era of globalisation with increased competition, and the urgent needs for knowledge sharing, foreign investment, technical assistance, as well as capacity building.

  Access the video: Trade, Poverty and the WTO: A Cambodia Story
  Read the Cambodia Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
  For a copy of the DVD, please contact:

Sunetra Puri
Communications Advisor, World Bank Institute
The World Bank, Room # J2-087, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC
E-mail: spuri1@worldbank.org Tel: (202) 473-2049, Fax: (202) 522-0401