in October 1991 and returned to Cambodia on behalf of the United Nations Transitional Authority in 1992 where he joined the Cambodian People's Party. In 1993, he was named as an adviser to the Government of the State of Cambodia and Senior Minister in Charge of Development. In that position, he managed to renew the economic ties of Cambodia beyond the collapsing Soviet economic system. He encouraged the passing of the Law on Investment in 1994 which was considered "liberal" and providing "very generous [...] incentives to investors compared to other countries." While he internally reformed his own ministry weeding out "ghost" staff whose salaries are being pocketed by others, he also opened his country internationally by developing political ties with the ASEAN in order to promote the “integration of [the] Cambodian economy in the region and the world." In November 1994, with the trust of both co-Prime Ministers Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, he was named in replacement of Sam Rainsy as Minister of Economy and Finance, a position which he held until 2004. Balancing Cambodian politics and national budget In April 1995, Sam Rainsy filed a lawsuit against Finance Minister Keat Chhon seeking maximum damages allowed for defamation by UNTAC law in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after Keat Chhon's public comments in Cambodia that Rainsy was attempting to get all foreign aid to the government suspended inferring that his replacement was guilty of corruption while finance minister. In January 1996, his relationship with Second Prime Minister Hun Sen came to a high point of tension as the latter accused him of being responsible of over-zealous import inspections by the government-contracted Swiss firm Societe Generale de Surveillance, which led in major loss of profits in the import-export sector, as some speculated Cham Prasidh was eyeing to replace him. In December 1996, the national budget was still recovering and suffering from corruption and diversion of states revenues, as minister in charge of rehabilitation and development, Keat Chhon, unwillingly conceded the government's need to diminish the part of the national budget allocated to the department of education. On July 5, 1998, Keat Chhon, Minister for Economy and Finance, was in Paris attending the meeting of the Consultative Group for Cambodia and assuring the aid donors about the due process of the elections. He was with Ung Huot, Minister of the Foreign Affairs, when he learned of violence exploding in