Ciorciari: American investors seek profit, safety in Cambodia

July 5, 2012

With a group of U.S. business owners joining U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on a trip to Cambodia, Voice of America Khmer spoke with John D. Ciorciari about the prospects for American investment in the country.

"Private investors are mainly looking for two things," Ciorciari said. "They are looking for profit, and they are looking for safety. So, in addition to showing Secretary Clinton and U.S. business investors sound economic fundamentals, I think the best things that Cambodia and Asean neighbors can demonstrate are signs of genuine commitment to enforcing property rights, to fairly enforcing contracts and otherwise
building the rule of law that will be conducive to the security and investment in the region."

Ciorciari's 2010 book, "The Limits of Alignment: Southeast Asia and the Great Powers since 1975," investigates the power alignments of small and middle states in Southeast Asia. Since 1999 he has been a legal advisor to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which promotes historical memory and justice for the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime.