Vietnam News Today (Mar. 9): Vietnam, Qatar Boost Tourism Cooperation

Photo: VNA

Vietnam logs 162,435 new Covid-19 cases on March 8

Vietnam recorded an additional 162,435 Covid-19 infections on March 8, the Ministry of Health announced.

The capital city of Hanoi continued to log the highest number of infections with 32,650. It was followed by central Nghe An and northern Bac Ninh provinces, with 15,292 and 10,731 cases, respectively.

Besides, the northern province of Bac Ninh supplemented 32,380 cases after verifying information.

The national tally reached 4,776,873, cited VNA.

Eighty-six fatalities were reported on March 8, raising the nation’s death toll to 40,977.

The same day, 70,902 patients were declared to be free from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, lifting the total number of recoveries to 2,789,342.

More than 198.2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Vietnam to date.

Vietnam, Qatar boost tourism cooperation

The Vietnamese Embassy in Qatar in collaboration with Asia DMC travel company jointly hosted a workshop on tourism cooperation and development between Vietnam and Qatar and other states in the Persian Gulf.

Representatives of renowned travel firms in Qatar such as Regency Travel & Tours, Tawfeeq Travel, NBK Travel & Tourism, Arabian Link Travel, Mosafer Travel & Tourism, and Qatar Airways.

Ambassador Tran Duc Hung (L) exchanges views with representatives of travel firms attending the workshop. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Addressing the workshop, ambassador Tran Duc Hung noted Vietnam boasts numerous cultural and natural wonders which are expected to attract holiday-makers from the Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

“We expect to resume international routes to meet the needs of tourists wishing to visit Vietnam and of Vietnamese people wishing to explore the world,” said the ambassador, according to VOV.

About 1,000 Qatari visitors travelled to Vietnam annually in the pre-pandemic period, he said but Qatar will be an important tourism market for Vietnam, especially when it hosts the World Cup this year.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Qatar will make every effort to create favorable conditions for travel businesses to enhance cooperation and fully tap into the potential of the two countries’ tourism industries, said the ambassador.

Representatives of Qatari travel firms expressed their desires to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese partners to promote tourism cooperation commensurate with the potential of the two countries.

Vietnam Airlines ready to conduct other repatriation flight

Vietnam Airlines will conduct its second flight to Romania to repatriate Vietnamese people moving out of war zones in Ukraine which is set to arrive in Hanoi at March 11 noon.

The first flight from Bucharest arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 11:30am on March 8.

The passengers returning from Ukraine on the first repatriation flight arrive at Noi Bai International Airport at noon of March 8. Photo: VNA

A representative of the national flag carrier told the Vietnam News Agency that it has been ready to operate the second flight, noting that it is the airline’s honor to join the Government’s efforts to bring Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine home in a timely and safe manner, reported VNA.

With experience from the first flight, the prepared flight plan and the personnel currently present in Romania, Vietnam Airlines is ready to operate its second one at the request of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it added.

This will also be the third repatriation flight of the country.

The one by Bamboo Airways from Warsaw capital of Poland is scheduled to land at Noi Bai airport on March 10 morning.

First electric bus route in HCM City to debut on Wednesday

The first electric bus route in HCM City will be put into operation on Wednesday, according to the municipal transport department.

The D4 route linking Vinhomes Grand Park with Saigon Bus Station will have a 20-minute interval between services.

It will pass areas housing high technology plants, new residential clusters and Thu Duc City’s administrative centre, with major roads but few bus routes, cited VNS.

The first electric bus route in HCM City will be put into operation on Wednesday. Photo: VNS

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoa Binh said the first electric bus service would help encourage local people to switch to a green mode of transportation, which is among the important targets of HCM City.

VinBus Ecology Transport Services Limited Liability Company (VinBus), the transport services arm of conglomerate Vingroup, proposed the trial run of five electric bus routes in the southern metropolis. It previously launched the first smart electric bus fleet of Vietnam in Hanoi.

The route will be open from 5am to 9.15pm every day.

The price is VND3,000 (US$0.13) per ticket for students and VND7,000 ($0.30) for others. The elderly, disabled and children under 1.3m can travel for free.

Vietnam Expo 2022 attracts 350 foreign exhibitors

The 31st Vietnam International Trade Fair (VIETNAM EXPO), which is scheduled to take place in Hanoi from April 13 - 16, is set to attract the participation of roughly 350 foreign businesses.

Themed ‘Step together in a digitized world’, the event to be held both virtually and physically aims to help domestic and foreign businesses to popularize products and technologies, as well as to seek investment cooperation opportunities.

Vietnam Expo 2021 attracts 10,250 local and foreign visitors. Photo: VOV

Covering a total area of 3,200 sq.m, the expo will consist of spaces specifically for national brands and export products, equipment and support industries, digital technology, e-commerce, and food and beverage.

It has so far received registrations of participating businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK), Belarus, Russia, Japan, the United States, Cuba, Malaysia, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar among others.

Most notably, the RoK will be the honorary guest of the expo. This year marks the 23rd consecutive year that the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra Hanoi) has attended the event. It also creates an important milestone in celebrating 30 years of diplomacy between Vietnam and the RoK this year, according to VOV.

Moreover, Belarus will also be a special guest of the exhibition. Covering an area of 200m2, Belarusian enterprises said they will bring a wide range of prominent products to the Vietnamese market.

First held in 1991, the annual VIETNAM EXPO has become a prestigious event for Vietnamese firms to showcase their products and seek fresh partnerships.

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