The proposal on tourism cooperation was raised during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Viet Nam Thamer Mohammed A. Algosaibi, held on May 14 in Ha Noi.
The meeting aimed to discuss orientations for promoting bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of culture, sports and tourism in the coming period.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong shared: “Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia are trustworthy partners as well as close friends. Viet Nam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism wishes to coordinate closely with the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Viet Nam to promote cooperation in fields with great potential such as culture, sports, tourism and media.”
According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Viet Nam Thamer Mohammed A. Algosaibi, Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia share many similarities in their orientations for economic development, tourism and human resources. Their shared pursuit of long-term goals creates a favourable foundation for both sides to strengthen exchanges, share experiences and promote specific cooperative initiatives. There remains substantial room for cooperation in culture, sports and tourism between the two countries.
Accordingly, the number of Saudi Arabian visitors to Viet Nam has shown positive growth in recent years. In the opposite direction, Saudi Arabia also hopes to welcome more Vietnamese tourists. To develop tourism cooperation more effectively, Ambassador Thamer Mohammed A. Algosaibi expressed hope that the two countries would soon open direct air routes, creating favourable conditions for travel and people-to-people exchanges.
In the field of sports, the Saudi Arabian side proposed strengthening connections among sports clubs, federations and associations of the two countries. At the same time, it expressed the wish that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would facilitate visits, exchanges and cooperation in several strong disciplines such as football, boxing and motor racing.
Saudi Arabia has also proactively connected with several universities in Viet Nam in the field of fine arts to seek opportunities for training cooperation and artistic exchanges.
Highly appreciating Saudi Arabia’s role and position in the Middle East region, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong said that Viet Nam is very interested in developing products and services suited to the needs of Saudi Arabian tourists in particular and the Middle Eastern market in general.
Regarding stronger tourism cooperation, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong expressed hope that the two countries would continue supporting and promoting each other’s images internationally, while encouraging the study of more favourable policies for travel and exchanges between citizens of both nations.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue studying and refining appropriate mechanisms to further promote cultural, sports and tourism exchanges between Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia in the time ahead.
