In the morning of 17 November 2022, H.E. Prof. Dr. CHHEM Kieth Rethy, Minister Delegate Attached to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, H.E. Mr. MIKAMI Masahiro, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Mr. SOK Soken, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Alternate ACMECS SOM Leader of Cambodia, presided over a Kick-Off Ceremony of the ACMECS Branding Project “SMEs Technology Adoption for Resiliency and Competitive Market” by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation under the ACMECS framework.

During Ceremony, H.E. Mr. SOK Soken shared the relevance of this prioritized project in the context of the Mekong subregion’s development cooperation architecture as well as on how it complements the efforts of the Royal Government of Cambodia in key sector development. H.E. also added that it will also pave the way for our SMEs to be more resilient and competitive in the digital economy world. He further mentioned that Japan has also long played an essential role in the sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region through the Mekong-Japan Cooperation mechanism and, bilaterally to Cambodia, through the provision of impactful technical and financial assistance that has been proven to drive real socio-economic progress for our people, particularly Cambodia and Japan recently have agreed to elevate relations to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" next year, in the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries which is a crucial milestone in the efforts to further strengthen the two countries’ cooperation and relations.