Seychelles opens up its skies to Cambodia |17 September 2014

A historical move to connect another East Asian country to the aeronautical highway of Seychelles became a reality on Monday when the country signed a first air service agreement with the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Officials from the Cambodian Aeronautical Services have been meeting with the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority to negotiate the agreement, after which a memorandum of understanding, and air service agreement (ASA) were signed and initialed respectively.

The negotiation in Seychelles follows preliminary discussions held during the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Conference (ICAN) held in Durban, South Africa in December last year.

The signing of the agreement was done by Mao Havannall, secretary of state of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation of Cambodia, and Wilfred Fock Tave, general manager of operations of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, in the presence of representatives of the national carrier Air Seychelles as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Fock Tave said: “The conclusion of this new agreement is proof of Seychelles’ continued determination in its attempt to open up the Seychelles International Airport to the rest of the world, making air services operation possible through a set of legal framework with flexible provisions for charters as well as airline operations for the future.”

The Kingdom of Cambodia is the 69th most populous country in the world. Though it has known many wars and is one of the poorest nations in Asia, Cambodia has a strong agricultural sector, mainly rice production which is also the mainstay of the Cambodian economy. It also has one of the best economic records in Asia due mainly to the development of textiles, agriculture, construction, garments, and tourism sector.

“Cambodia is a worthy addition to our list of prospective future destination for Seychelles as it entices the travelling public, including the business community, traders, as well as tourism partners to discover this enigmatic country and to assess what opportunities exist for exploitation,” said the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Joël Morgan.

The minister also added that the government of Seychelles is committed to deepening ties with Cambodia with greater cooperation planned in fields such as air services, tourism, agriculture, trade and investment among others.

Friendly and cooperative ties exist between both countries dating back since 1980, with past cooperation including an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) since 2010 as well as a Visa Waiver Agreement done in 2012.

The conclusion of this air services agreement comes ahead of a visit of a Seychelles ministerial delegation to Cambodia next month when it is anticipated that the two countries’ ministers will finalise signature to this agreement.