RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism Cooperation. This agreement aims to attract more Iranian tourists and significantly strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.
The MoU was executed on November 10 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by H.E. Huot Hak, Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism, and H.E. Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 26th General Assembly of the UN Tourism.
Targeting New Tourism Markets
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the agreement aims to enhance friendship and cooperation while actively creating opportunities for mutual tourism promotion. With a population exceeding 92 million, Iran represents a significant global market, ranking 17th worldwide. The MoU is crucial for diversifying Cambodia’s tourism markets, strengthening Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives, and developing new value-added and heritage tourism products to attract Iranian visitors.
Direct connectivity via Etihad Airways’ flights between Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Phnom Penh, launched in early October, is expected to greatly facilitate travel, tourism, and investment between the two countries.
Strengthening Regional Tourism
In a separate, high-level meeting on November 9, H.E. Huot Hak also met with H.E. Phyo Saw Soe, Deputy Minister of Hotels and Tourism of Myanmar. Both sides agreed to strengthen and deepen tourism cooperation to boost tourist exchanges and increase international arrivals. They will achieve this through regional and sub-regional mechanisms like ASEAN, GMS, CLMV, and ACMECS. They also committed to exploring the possibility of establishing direct flights between the countries’ major cities and tourist destinations.
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