Direct flights between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan start next year

Chief Executive John Lee says Hong Kong will launch direct flights to Kazakhstan in the first quarter of next year. The comment comes while Lee continues his first official visit in Kazakhstan.

On the second day of his Central Asia trip, Chief Executive John Lee met with representatives of Baiterek National Investment Holding in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

John Lee, Chief Executive, says "This meeting is really for mutual learning and good exchange of ideas and opinions."

Speaking to the media in Astana, the CE said the delegation has signed 43 memoranda of understanding.

Lee revealed that a Hong Kong-based airline will operate direct flights to Kazakhstan's Almaty in the first quarter of 2027. Lee said the new route will provide a more convenient access for passengers to other destinations, including Eastern Europe and other parts of the Central Asia.

Later in a statement, Cathay Pacific Airways says it will launch three flights every week between Hong Kong and Almaty starting early next year.

Apart from establishing a new flight route, the CE says he is working with the Kazakh authorities to extend visa-free access for Hong Kong people visiting the country. While the existing visa-free period for Hong Kongers in Kazakhstan is 14 days, Lee hopes to expand it to 30 -- a goal that is shared by the two parties.

On Wednesday, the CE will visit Astana's Nazarbayev University,

where President Xi Jinping announced the initiative of the Belt and Road development in 2013.

"We will be signing some MOUs. The Education University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University will be developing a working relationship with the Nazarbayev University to further expand collaboration between the high-end education of the two places."

Lee will head to Uzbekistan later on Wednesday.