Hong Kong will relaunch direct flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan in the first quarter of next year, the city’s leader has revealed as he vowed to push for visa-free access to the Central Asian country for up to 30 days.

Confirming a South China Morning Post report, Cathay Pacific Airways on Tuesday said it would operate the services to Almaty – Kazakhstan’s commercial and cultural capital – three flights per week with an Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday hailed the progress of a high-powered delegation he was leading to the region and said his team had sealed as many as 43 wide-ranging partnership agreements with different organisations in the country.

Among them, a Hong Kong-based airline would launch direct flight services to Almaty in the first quarter of next year, he said.

He described this as a result of government-to-government negotiations over aviation rights, which would benefit the airline’s operation of the routes.

“Apart from operating the direct flight, the airline will also be able to make use of Almaty to enter other Central Asian, Eastern European and Caucasus regions,” he said, adding the service would promote closer ties between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.