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The Vietnamese government has just concluded a written conclusion to allow regular international commercial flights between Vietnam and some partners.
Specifically, as of September 15, it will be deployed for the routes Vietnam – China (Guangzhou), Vietnam – Japan (Tokyo), Vietnam – Korea (Seoul), Vietnam – Taiwan. China (Taipei).
Beginning September 22, deployment to the Vietnam – Cambodia (Phnom Penh), Vietnam – Laos (Vientiane) routes.
Frequency no more than 2 flights / week for each match and each airline with the number of flights will consider increasing to adapt to the real situation.
The topics and conditions for entry to Vietnam on commercial flights from the above 6 regions will not include people in transit from a third country. Therefore, for foreign holders of diplomatic, official and relative passports, there must be a negative RT-PCR certificate for SARS-CoV-2 issued by the competent health authority of the host country within 3 days before boarding.
Passengers will be screened for RT-PCR immediately upon entering the quarantine site, isolated at the official residence of the representative agency or at the hotel or accommodation facility as prescribed..
The manager of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency office in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Shin Jee-hoon welcomed the move, noting that Vietnam is an attractive investment destination for Korea.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investments, in the first 6 months of the year, Korea invested in Vietnam around 68.3 billion dollars, equivalent to 18.1% of the total investment in the South, maintaining its position as an investor. Vietnam’s largest foreign investment.
Mr. Shin Jee-hoon added: “It is unfortunate that due to the Covid-19 epidemic, many investment projects are now suspended due to the inability of large investors to enter Vietnam. Entrepreneurs and investors. Korea needs to go to Vietnam to study project sites or to meet face to face and discuss deals. “
The scheduled time for Vietnam to resume international flights will coincide with the day that South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited the country to discuss measures to cooperate in dealing with the pandemic and other bilateral issues. .
Despite being the country with the lowest number of Covid-19 infections in Southeast Asia, the country’s economic outlook is the slowest in 20 years, with growth expected from 2 to 2.5% this year.
According to the General Statistics Office, during the first 8 months of the year, the export volume was estimated at $ 174.11 billion, 1.6% more than in the same period last year. Total foreign investment capital in Vietnam reached $ 19.5 billion, 13.7% less than in the same period in 2019. Additionally, tourism revenue decreased by 54.4%.
According to a government survey of 400 companies and 15 trade associations in sectors such as tourism, agriculture and plastic manufacturing last month, the second wave of epidemics reduced the size of the disease. almost half of the companies in Vietnam.
Among companies that had to downsize, 33% were forced to lay off more than half of their employees. In particular, the tourism industry was the most affected.
Overall, 76% of companies said they could not balance their income and expenses, 20% had to suspend operations, and 2% of companies were dissolved. Only 2% of companies declared that they were temporarily unaffected by the pandemic.
Vietnamese economic experts predict that the unemployment rate will continue to rise, at least until the end of this year. According to Mr. Le Hong Hiep, a researcher at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore) emphasized that Vietnam is the only economy in Southeast Asia that is not expected to decline this year.
“This will create the conditions for Vietnam to become one of the first countries to reopen borders, helping to increase prestige in the international arena,” said Mr. Hiep.
The ISEAS representative added: “Vietnam wishes to reopen borders for ‘safe partners’ because this can help to recover the economy from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, facilitating capital flows. Currently, cross-border tourism is not possible, so this move is not intended to “revive” the tourism industry.
Mr. Vu Thanh Tu Anh, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, said that the Government had to consider reopening the country’s border. In explaining this, he said, the government must strictly control the epidemic because “the public health crisis will lead to an economic crisis, not the other way around.”
Mr. Vu Thanh Tu Anh stated: “Vietnam is highly dependent on public consumption, contributing 2/3 of GDP. Therefore, instead of relying on tourism, focusing on the domestic market will continue to promote development. Economic development “.
The business advisor related to government affairs, the director of the Vriens & Partners branch in Hanoi, Mr. Samuel Pursch expressed his approval for the government’s plan to refloat flights, although many of its partners in Singapore and countries of the UE will not benefit from this.
Today, countries around the world have also reopened borders for international tourists, through ‘travel bubble’ agreements.
Dr. Kidong Park, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam concluded: “There will be no ‘zero risk’ when restarting international flights. This risk can be controlled to ensure socio-economic benefits and not have serious consequences for public health “.
