AKP Phnom Penh, November 11, 2025 --

The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism Cooperation to attract more Iranian tourists and strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.

The MoU was signed on Nov. 10 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by H.E. Huot Hak, Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, and H.E. Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the sidelines of the 26th General Assembly of the UN Tourism.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the agreement aims to enhance friendship and cooperation between the Royal Governments and peoples of both countries, while creating opportunities for mutual tourism promotion.

With a population of over 92 million, Iran ranks second in the Middle East and 17th globally, representing a significant potential tourism market for Cambodia. The MoU will help diversify Cambodia’s tourism markets, strengthen Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives, and develop new value-added and heritage tourism products to attract more Iranian visitors.

The connectivity via Etihad Airways’ direct flights between Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Phnom Penh, launched in early October, is also expected to facilitate travel and promote tourism and investment between the two nations.

Earlier, on Nov. 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 increase tourist exchanges and boost international arrivals through regional and sub-regional mechanisms such as ASEAN, GMS, CLMV, and ACMECS, as well as explore possibilities of establishing direct flights between major cities and tourist destinations of the two countries.

By Phal Sophanith