(Phnom Penh): Huot Hak, Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, received a courtesy call from Ahmet Gurbanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, accompanied by Muhammetnyyaz Mashalov, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Cambodia (with residence in Malaysia), and senior delegates at the Ministry of Tourism’s headquarters on Saturday (May 9).

The discussion focused on strengthening and expanding tourism cooperation between Cambodia and Turkmenistan.

During the discussion, Ahmet Gurbanov expressed gratitude for the warm welcome extended by the minister and the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism.

He also expressed admiration for Cambodia’s peace, security, and progress across all sectors, including its tourism potential, particularly the Angkor Wat Temple complex, which serves as a major cultural, historical, and natural tourism destination capable of attracting even more international visitors.

He further emphasized Turkmenistan’s commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the tourism sector. At the same time, he briefed the Cambodian side on Turkmenistan’s tourism potential, which includes UNESCO-recognized cultural and historical heritage sites, as well as medical tourism linked to natural therapeutic treatments.

In response, Minister Huot Hak highly appreciated the strong friendship and positive cooperation between Cambodia and Turkmenistan, which have contributed significantly to enhancing bilateral relations and expanding tourism cooperation potential between the two countries.

During the fruitful meeting, the minister also encouraged the Turkmen side to help promote Cambodia’s tourism potential and investment opportunities to the people of Turkmenistan, while also contributing to combating misinformation about Cambodia.

He reaffirmed that Cambodia is a safe, peaceful, and welcoming destination for international tourists.

On the occasion, both sides exchanged in-depth views on strengthening and expanding bilateral tourism cooperation through the organization of Familiarization Trips (FAM Trips) for investors, media representatives, and tourism companies from both countries, joint tourism promotion activities, encouraging high-level tourism visits, and studying the feasibility of launching direct flights between Ashgabat–Phnom Penh and Ashgabat–Siem Reap.

At the same time, both sides also discussed accelerating the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation between Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism and the tourism authorities of Turkmenistan in order to further strengthen and improve the effectiveness of bilateral tourism cooperation.

It should also be noted that Cambodia and Turkmenistan officially established diplomatic relations in 1995. In recent years, both countries have continued to strengthen relations and cooperation across various sectors, including tourism.
=FRESH NEWS