Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the ministries of public security and foreign affairs to study visa exemptions for citizens from more countries to boost tourism.

Tourists queuing to visit Hanoi's Hoa Lo prison. Photo: VGP

In a recent meeting with Vietnamese diplomatic representatives, he emphasized the need for visa policies that facilitate foreign travel and drive tourism recovery.

"The Ministry of Public Security should work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to waive the visa requirement for more countries," he said.

Vietnam currently waives visas for travelers from 25 countries, while Malaysia and Singapore do so for 162, the Philippines for 157, and Thailand for 93. Thailand recently extended its visa-free stay to 60 days for 93 countries, while Indonesia plans to introduce visa-free entry for 20 destinations by October, including Australia, China and India.

Vietnam's current policy is to grant three-month tourist visas to citizens of all countries. In addition, since August last year, the government has extended visa-free stays to 45 days for citizens of 13 countries.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam welcomed 8.8 million international visitors, up 58% year-on-year and 4% on pre-Covid levels, with South Korean and Chinese tourists leading the way. The target for 2024 is 18 million visitors.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also urged Vietnamese missions abroad to attract investment to boost national socio-economic growth.

According to PM Chinh, key tasks in economic diplomacy include leveraging existing free trade agreements, expanding markets in the Middle East and South America, increasing halal exports, and negotiating new trade deals.

He called on overseas agencies to monitor trade remedy measures on Vietnamese exports to take early action and support domestic manufacturing, business and tourism recovery.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported at the meeting that economic diplomacy had been effectively carried out in the first half of 2024, maintaining a favorable environment for development and resource mobilization and removing obstacles to investment.

Economic affairs were the focus of 36 high-level diplomatic activities this year, resulting in numerous cooperation agreements. Vietnam has attracted significant foreign investment from major corporations such as NVIDIA, Apple, Intel, Google, Infosys, and Siemens and has hosted business delegations from Northern Europe, the US, Canada, and Japan to explore opportunities.

Vietnam continues to leverage 16 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 60 partners and is actively negotiating updated and new agreements.