MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung having a meeting with Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb - Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia (Photo: TITC)

MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated, over 20 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the good friendship between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia has made many strides in all fields, especially in the fields of culture, sports and tourism.

In bilateral cooperation, Vietnam always considers Saudi Arabia as a good friend. Although Vietnam and Saudi Arabia are far apart in terms of geographical distance and language, the two countries all have a common desire to learn about the culture, people, and beauty of each country. The two countries need to strengthen good cooperation to develop together.

Informing the development of Vietnam tourism, Minister Nguyen Van Hung said that, with the potential of long-standing historical and cultural traditions, and being endowed with many beautiful landscapes by nature, Vietnam has great potential for tourism development.

Overview of the meeting (Photo: TITC)

The tourism industry has received great attention from the Party and State, along with the efforts of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the contribution from the business community, post the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism activities were officially resumed from 15th March 2022. Vietnam became one of the first countries in the region to open its doors to international tourists.

Followed by a series of positive signals, the number of international visitors returning to Vietnam has shown strong signs of growth. In 2022, Vietnam only received about 3.7 million visitor arrivals; in the first 7 months of 2023, the number of international visitors to Vietnam has increased to 6.6 million arrivals. The indicators of Vietnam's tourism competitiveness are also ranked high by organisations.

MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung gifting souvenir to Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb - Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia (Photo: TITC)

Vietnam has always been a responsible member when participating in the international tourism community, indicated MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung. In particular, Vietnam has made many contributions to create tourism development plans in ASEAN, a group of countries with bilateral and multilateral relationships.

The visit of Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb is a good opportunity to enhance the relationship between the two ministries and has brought the field of tourism cooperation between the two countries to a new height. According to MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung, tourism is not only seen from an economic perspective but also as a "catalyst" to increase solidarity among nations, thereby building a world of equality, peace and friendship. Therefore, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism hopes that, as the Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb, will pay more attention to countries with conditions for tourism development, including Vietnam with specific solutions.

In February 2023, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued a Decision approving the project "Promoting international cooperation to develop Vietnam's Halal industry until 2030". This is the first project that sets out major national orientations to open up the potential Halal market, in which tourism is considered one of the priority areas with Saudi Arabia,  one of the key partners and key markets.

Minister Nguyen Van Hung hopes that Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb will support to connect investors and businesses to come and share experience, technology and introduce investors to the Vietnamese side. The MOCST will actively support when Saudi investors come to Vietnam.

Additionally, MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung suggested the two sides need to study and coordinate to build a closer relationship through the signing of a memorandum of cooperation.

Leaders of the two Ministries taking souvenir photo (Photo: TITC)

Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb - Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia agreed with the view, positively assessing the potential of the relationship between the two countries, especially in the field of tourism. The good relationship between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia in recent years has made important developments. Many Saudi businesses have cooperated and invested in Vietnam for more than 20 years. On the contrary, there is an increasing number of Vietnamese businesses are interested in Saudi Arabia, emphasised Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb.

According to Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb, Saudi Arabia already has a National Strategy on Tourism and is currently focusing on investing in this area. In 2023, Saudi Arabia aims to welcome 30 million international arrivals; in the first half of the year, Saudi Arabia welcomed more than 17 million arrivals.

Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb also expressed his support for Minister Nguyen Van Hung's proposal to jointly cooperate and promote tourism development of the two sides. In which, Mr. Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb will consult to study the opening of a World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) office in the ASEAN region.

On this occasion, Minister Ahmed Agil F Alkhateeb said that Saudi Arabia will hold the 2023 World Tourism Day event in the country and cordially invites Minister Nguyen Van Hung to attend this event.

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