Viet Nam, Sri Lanka to launch direct air routes this month

Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam made the above announcement while addressing the Viet Nam Tourism Promotion Program held in Colombo, on July 31.

The direct air service will not only shorten travel time between the two nations but also inject new impetus in fostering tourism, trade, investment and people-to-people linkages, contributing to promoting the bilateral ties towards a more intensive and practical manner, said the diplomat.

Addressing the tourism promotion event, Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe expressed his satisfaction at the growing number of tourists between the two nations.

In the first half of this year, nearly 9,000 visitors from Sri Lanka traveled to Viet Nam while more than 4,500 Vietnamese visited Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan official highly appreciated the efforts of relevant authorities and the business communities of both countries in streamlining procedures and making direct air connectivity between the two countries a reality.

He also expressed confidence that bilateral tourism cooperation would achieve significant progress in the coming period.

The Viet Nam Tourism Promotion Program in Colombo is one of the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka's key economic and cultural diplomacy initiatives.

The program aims to promote the image of Viet Nam and its people, strengthen connections between the tourism business communities of the two countries, and lay the groundwork for effectively leveraging the new direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Colombo.

It is also expected to contribute to deepening the Viet Nam–Sri Lanka Comprehensive Partnership, established during the state visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to Sri Lanka, making the bilateral relationship increasingly substantive and effective./.