Vietnam OKs s visa waiver for Czechs during leader’s visit

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam agreed to give Czech citizens visa exemptions for up to 15 days to boost tourism between the two countries.

The agreement was reached in talks between Czech President Milos Zeman and his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Zeman told reporters that the two presidents also agreed to launch direct air service between Vietnam’s southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City and Prague. It’s unclear when the service would be launched.

Last year, Vietnam unilaterally gave visa waivers of up to 15 days for nationals from Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Spain. Earlier visa exemptions were given to Scandinavian countries, Russia, Japan and South Korea.

Zeman said he was accompanied by 68 Czech businesspeople on his two-day visit to Vietnam where seven deals including a $20 million beach resort project were signed.

Vietnam has seen 10 million foreign arrivals last year, up 26 per cent from the previous year.