Hong Kong’s John Lee signals more flights to Cambodia as city aims for closer ties with country

There were 13 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), involving trade, economic cooperation, innovation and aviation, signed during the trip.

It was announced at a later event that Cathay Group and Hong Kong Airlines had signed MOUs with Cambodian counterparts.

“Both Hong Kong and Cambodia can seize the opportunity to increase flights between them.”

The Hong Kong to Phnom Penh route is at present served by Cathay and Cambodia Angkor Air Airlines.

But there is no direct flight to Siem Reap, a gateway to the world-famous Angkor Wat heritage site, after Cathay’s low-cost subsidiary HK Express suspended its flights there in 2020.

Lee, who revealed that he had been to Cambodia as a tourist, also suggested that the two governments would look at ways to create more people-to-people exchanges.

“We have also talked about providing more convenience to incoming tourists, including visas,” he said.

“I will discuss with our relevant bureaus and departments after my return [to Hong Kong] to find out how to make it more convenient for tourists to visit each other’s places.”

Hong Kong has accepted visa applications from Cambodians for employment, investment, training and study since March 2017 and tourists from the country can use an online platform to obtain visas for the city.

Lee said he was grateful to the Cambodian government for renewing its support for Hong Kong to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which covers the Asia-Pacific area and is the world’s largest free-trade pact.

Cambodia’s deputy prime minister, Sun Chanthol, at a lunch meeting, made an appeal to Hong Kong investors and emphasised the country’s political and currency stability.

“Investing in Cambodia offers Hong Kong investors the chance to tap into a dynamic and fast growing economy in Southeast Asia, supported by a favourable investment climate, strategic location and the pro-business government that played a role as the facilitator of the private sector,” he said.

The new deals revealed in Cambodia added to 12 similar non-binding agreements signed during Lee’s visit to Laos earlier this week.

It is expected that similar agreements will be signed when the delegation moves on to Vietnam.

The delegation arrived in Laos on Sunday, then visited Cambodia and will move on to Vietnam on Wednesday and return to Hong Kong on Friday.

Hun Manet last August took over leadership of Cambodia last from his father Hun Sen, who had ruled the country for nearly four decades and is still the president of the country’s senate.

Hong Kong business leaders have suggested that Hun Manet, who attended the West Point military academy in the US, is more likely to favour pro-business policies to drive economic growth.

Lee is expected to meet Vietnamese leaders in Ho Chi Minh City, the city’s major business centre, on Thursday.