Factory workers inspect the quality of finished garments. STPM
Sun Chanthol, first vice-chairman of The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) opened the Cambodia Global Textile Summit 2025. This year’s summit, held with the theme “Shaping the Future: Competitiveness and Sustainability”, took place on March 31 at the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra.
During his opening remarks, he noted that the Kingdom is a destination that all investors should consider for investment, as the government is implementing its economic agenda to enhance competitiveness, sustainability, and prosperity.
The summit was attended by the CDC leadership, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Hen Sour and the director of the ILO Office for Cambodia, Thailand and Laos Xiaoyan Qian, as well AS representatives from government institutions, the leadership of the Cambodia Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association (TAFTAC), representatives from the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (EuroCham), Better Factories Cambodia, GIZ and representatives from several major international brands.
Chanthol emphasised that Cambodia is rapidly advancing across all sectors. He cited many reasons why Cambodia is becoming a promising location for investment in various fields.
He expressed hope that the summit would help participants from all related sectors gain further insight into the future development of the textile and garment industry in Cambodia.
According to Chanthol, some of the key factors that are creating a favourable environment for investment in Cambodia include the government’s policies to promote vocational training, labour standards, environmental management, economic modernisation and the implementation of digital transformation, as well as efforts to boost work speed with quality and efficiency, and the vision to transform Cambodia into a more developed nation in the future.
He added noted that besides the factors above, Cambodia is preparing for opportunities in the future by strengthening the capacity of the textile and garment industry to ensure sustainable development.
“I hope that this summit will become a platform to build relationships between the government, civil society and the private sector to ensure that Cambodia’s textile and garment industry remains competitive, sustainable, and prosperous,” he said.
According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), garment products with HS codes 61, 62, 63 and 64, earned $11.68 billion, up 24.4% on the $9.39 billion of 2023.
This represented 44.59% of the $26.2 billion Cambodia earned from exports.
HS codes 61, 62 and 63 include articles of apparel and clothing accessories (knitted and not knitted or crocheted), while goods under HS code 64 include footwear, gaiters and the like, as well as accessories like laces.
