By Erika Kinetz and Chhay Channyda
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday for the first top-level state visit since the two countries reestablished diplomatic relations in 1997.
Roh Moo-hyun is in Cambodia for four days to celebrate the Angkor-Gyeongju World Expo 2006, which will officially open inside Angkor Archaeological Park on Tuesday.
The $6 million cultural extravaganza is just one sign of the growing relationship between the two nations. Korean tourists have been flocking to Cambodia, which prompted Korean Air last week to inaugurate two new routes to Cambodia from Seoul, and business development is on the agenda this week.
"Phnom Penh is actively soliciting investment from the Korean private sector," the Korean Overseas Information Service said in a statement marking the visit.
South Korean businesses invested $219 million in Cambodia last year, and the two-way trade volume between the countries was $150 million, with all but $6 million of it flowing from South Korea to Cambodia, according to the statement.
Roh Moo-hyun's delegation consisted of 200 people, 80 of them from the media, said Seng Savorn, director of the press department at the Council of Ministers. Today, Roh Moo-hyun is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sun and sign agreements to waive visa requirements for diplomats and government officials from both countries, allow more Cambodians to work in South Korea, and increase aid for information technology projects in Cambodia, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.
Roh Moo-hyun touched down at 5:25 pm in a wide-bodied Boeing 747, the first to ever land in Cambodia, said Khek Norinda, communications and marketing manager for the Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports.
Since the beginning of this year, some 30 percent of arrivals at Siem Reap International Airport have been passengers from South Korea, he added. To help meet that demand, Korean Air last week added four weekly flights from Incheon International Airport in Seoul to Phnom Penh International Airport and another four to Siem Reap.
Tourism is growing, but not fast enough to necessitate a regular flow of 747s into Phnom Penh, Khek Norinda said. The planes can seat up to 500 people.
"So far there is no demand from any airlines to have a 747," he said. "There is no market at the moment."
Most passenger flights to Phnom Penh seat about 250 passengers, and the largest craft that lands these days is a C130 cargo plane, used most often by the US Embassy, he said.
Roh Moo-hyun is in Cambodia for four days to celebrate the Angkor-Gyeongju World Expo 2006, which will officially open inside Angkor Archaeological Park on Tuesday.
The $6 million cultural extravaganza is just one sign of the growing relationship between the two nations. Korean tourists have been flocking to Cambodia, which prompted Korean Air last week to inaugurate two new routes to Cambodia from Seoul, and business development is on the agenda this week.
"Phnom Penh is actively soliciting investment from the Korean private sector," the Korean Overseas Information Service said in a statement marking the visit.
South Korean businesses invested $219 million in Cambodia last year, and the two-way trade volume between the countries was $150 million, with all but $6 million of it flowing from South Korea to Cambodia, according to the statement.
Roh Moo-hyun's delegation consisted of 200 people, 80 of them from the media, said Seng Savorn, director of the press department at the Council of Ministers. Today, Roh Moo-hyun is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sun and sign agreements to waive visa requirements for diplomats and government officials from both countries, allow more Cambodians to work in South Korea, and increase aid for information technology projects in Cambodia, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.
Roh Moo-hyun touched down at 5:25 pm in a wide-bodied Boeing 747, the first to ever land in Cambodia, said Khek Norinda, communications and marketing manager for the Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports.
Since the beginning of this year, some 30 percent of arrivals at Siem Reap International Airport have been passengers from South Korea, he added. To help meet that demand, Korean Air last week added four weekly flights from Incheon International Airport in Seoul to Phnom Penh International Airport and another four to Siem Reap.
Tourism is growing, but not fast enough to necessitate a regular flow of 747s into Phnom Penh, Khek Norinda said. The planes can seat up to 500 people.
"So far there is no demand from any airlines to have a 747," he said. "There is no market at the moment."
Most passenger flights to Phnom Penh seat about 250 passengers, and the largest craft that lands these days is a C130 cargo plane, used most often by the US Embassy, he said.
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