Vietnam and India will soon have direct air connectivity and increased people-to-people contact in the coming months, Vietnam’s Ambassador said here on Wednesday. The announcement came soon after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with the Vice President of Vietnam Ðăng Thi Ngoc Thinh at a multilateral meeting in Tajikistan.
“The flying time from Kolkata to Hanoi is less than the air travel time from Kolkata to Delhi and that is why we are starting the Indigo flights from October 3 this year that will connect the two cities,” said Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau.
The envoy said that the flight was expected to be a daily service between the two major cities and would help in the movement of tourists between the two countries. “In near future, we hope to connect Hanoi with other Indian cities as well,” he said.
Vietnam had also started a “visa on arrival” for Indian travellers. The diplomat said Vietnam’s leadership was expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Osaka G20 summit, adding that both sides were keen on maintaining high-level ties.
The latest high-level visit from India was in May when Vice President Venkaiah Naidu paid an official visit from May 9-12. “Mr. Naidu’s speech during the visit, where he dealt with the role of Buddhism in our ties with India was noted,” said the envoy.
