123 Oct 1991Paris peace agreementParis Peace Agreements are the comprehensive political framework that ended the conflicts in Cambodia thirty years ago and brought 19 state actors together. The agreements provided a framework for Cambodia to rebuild and integrate itself into the regional and global communities.U.S. Mission Cambodia, "The Paris Peace Agreements in 2021: Looking Back and Moving Forward," 28 October 2021, accessed on September 2022https://kh.usembassy.gov/the-paris-peace-agreements-in-2021-looking-back-and-moving-forward/ 2Jul 1997 - Dec 1998Asian financial crisisAsian Financial Crisis started in Thailand and quickly spread and destabilized the neighboring economies. It began when Thailand devalued its currency relative to the U.S. dollar, making the currency of Indonesia, Thai, and South Korea down by around 80%, 50%, and 50%, respectively, in the first six months. According to the National Bank of Cambodia, the inflow of FDI stood at $290 million in 1996 and dramatically dropped to $200 million in the next year. However, the FDI net inflow experienced a downward trend since 1996 before the crisis due to the investment climate in Cambodia.Alice D. Ba, "Asian financial crisis," Brtitannica, accessed on September 2022.https://archive.ph/nUNkw 330 Apr 1999Cambodia joined ASEANCambodia is the last and tenth member state to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, by the founding fathers of ASEAN, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. ASEAN was then joined by Brunei (7 January 1984), Vietnam (28 July 1995), and Laos and Myanmar (23 July 1987). The main objectives of Cambodia joining ASEAN are to build friendly ties and cooperation among the members, enhance Cambodia's regional and international integration, contribute to addressing regional and global challenges, uphold peace values in the region, and leverage socio-economic development and high economic growth.Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, "Cambodias Membership," accessed on September 2022.https://archive.ph/OAMKz 413 Oct 2004Cambodia joined WTOCambodia is the 148th member and second least developed country to join WTO on 13 October 2004. In terms of trade and investment, WTO allows Cambodia to enjoy the most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment for Cambodia's exports, reform its trade regime and create a legal environment to attract investors, and take commitments related to trade in services.World Trade Organization, "Cambodia Accession to WTO," accessed on September 2022.https://data.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/en/library_record/cambodia-s-accession-to-wto 52007 - 2008Global financial crisisGlobal Financial Crisis refers to the extreme stress period in global financial markets and the banking system. The main causes of the crisis can be seen in excessive risk-taking in a favorable macroeconomic environment, increased borrowing by banks and investors, and regulation and policy errors. Before 2008, Cambodia experienced an upward trend of FDI; however, many investors had to cut back their investments because of the economic downturn.Reserve Bank of Australia, "The Global Financial Crisis," accessed on September 2022.https://archive.ph/3BujaHem Socheth, "Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Cambodian Economy at macro and sectoral levels," April 2013, accessed on September 2022.https://www.ccc-cambodia.org/backend/web/uploads/event-archives/media/wp72e-58bd184534d24.pdf 6Nov 2019COVID-19China reported having the first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, which has spread globally. On 27 January 2020, the Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in Cambodia. It has negatively affected many sectors in Cambodia, including socio-economic and household impacts. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the pandemic also negatively affected FDI, leading to the growth rate drop to -3.1% in 2020.Open Development Cambodia, "Pandemics," 26 January 2022, accessed on September 2022https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/topics/pandemics/World Bank, "GDP growth (annual &) - Cambodia," accessed on September 2022https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=KH&name_desc=false 712 Aug 2020EU's partial withdrawal of Everything But Arms (EBA)According to the European Commission, the European Union officially withdraw 20% of the trade privileges under the European Union's Everything But Arms' (EBA) trade scheme due to the serious and systematic human rights violations in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, affecting garment and footwear products and travel goods and sugar.European Commission, "Trade/Human Rights: Commission decides to partially withdraw Cambodia's preferential access to the EU market," 12 February 2020, accessed on September 2022.https://archive.ph/JibhO