The two country leaders were in Jakarta for the East Asian World Economic Forum and held a meeting during the proceedings. Hun Sen told reporters attached to Cambodia’s TVK Station the Ministries of Foreign Affairs for both nations needed to work out an agenda for establishing flights.
The station reported that direct flights would be a boon to commerce and tourism for both Southeast Asian nations. In 2014, 35,655 Indonesians visited Cambodia and joint trade was worth about US$600 million.
Commenting on the TV station’s report, Cambodian government-private tourism committee chairperson Ho Vandy, said the two leaders had not set out a definite timetable for inaugurating a flight schedule. He said they had only stated they would like to see it happen.
Vandy continued by saying Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia’s flag-carrying airline, had signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing flights three years ago, yet nothing had transpired. He finished off by saying if the direct route came to fruition it would be positive, but noted it was still early days.
Cambodia Indonesia leaders mull direct flights
News in Asia
The political leaders of Indonesia and Cambodia have jointly declared that establishing a direct flight route between the two nations is a priority. Cambodian TV reported Indonesian’s Joko Widodo and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, discussed the issue after the former broached the subject.