Bangladesh-Vietnam agree to sign MoU on tourism development

Dhaka : Bangladesh and Vietnam have agreed to sign a non-binding Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries for development of tourism. This was agreed between the Ministers of Bangladesh and Vietnam following an ex-change of opinion during the visit of Rashed Khan Menon at the head of a nine-member delegation to Vietnam.

Rashed Khan Menon, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, lead a delegation which comprised Lutfun Nessa Khan, wife of the minister, Kali Ranjan Barman, Director (Planning), Bangla-desh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), Air Cdr Mostafizur Rahman, Member, Operation and Planning, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Md Tauhidur Rah-man, Protocol Officer of the Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Syed Mustafizur Rahman, Managing Director, Novo Cargo Services Ltd, Taufiq Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director, Galaxy Travel International, Harun-ar-Rashid, Managing Direc-tor, Apex Weaving and Finishing Mills Ltd and the Author, representing The Bangladesh Monitor.

Bangladesh has already signed non-binding MoUs with Malaysia and Cambodia.

Hoang Tuan Anh, Minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam during a meeting with the Bangladesh Minister and his eight-member delegation emphasised on direct air link between the two countries to create a favourable condition for the development of tourism.

People of the two countries enjoy cordial relations, the Minister said and felt that it could not develop fully due to lack of direct air links. Distance between the two countries was the impediment. So tourism development could not be possible though there are immense scope for the development of sports and cultural ties, as well.

He said the visit of Bangladesh’s Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism would open up new ways of cooperation in these fields. He proposed that some practical measures be taken for the development of mutual cooperation which would include high-level exchange of visits as well as attending tourism fairs in each other’s countries.

In this connection, Hoang Tuan Anh invited Bangladesh’s tour operators to attend Hanoi Tourism Fair to be held in Hanoi this month.

Reciprocating the sentiments, Rashed Khan Menon said people of Bangladesh hold Ho Chi Minh, the founding father of Vietnam, in high esteem and have high regards and respect for the people of Vietnam.

The Minister recalled that though there were Dhaka-Hanoi air links immediately after the liberation, no airline operate flights on the route now. Geographical cooperation could not be developed because of lack of direct air links.

He sought cooperation of the government of Vietnam and proposed that the Vietnamese national carrier can consider opening Dhaka-Bangkok-Hanoi flights.

The Bangladesh Minister also sought assistance from his Vietnamese counterpart for technical cooperation in the field of development of tourism in Bangladesh and expressed his willingness to learn from and share the experience of Vietnam in developing Bangladesh’s tourism sector.

Bangladesh has different Buddhist tourist attractions which can attract Vietnamese tourists which would ultimately contribute to the exchange of tourists between the two countries.

He suggested developing regional Buddhist circuit tourism with the countries of South Eas Asia where there are Buddhist attractions.

He also emphasised on the exchange of tourist delegations between the two countries and put forward the idea of organising “Bangladesh Day” in Hanoi and “Vietnam Day” in Dhaka by respective Embassies to create enthusiasm at all levels.

Rashed Khan Menon invited Hoang Tuan Anh to visit Bangladesh during “Visit Bangladesh Year 2016.”

The Vietnamese Minister welcomed the ideas put forward by his Bangladesh counterpart and showed interest in sharing with Bangladesh his country’s experience in developing tourism. He also assured of sending a tourism delegation to Bangladesh.

Speaking on the occasion, Md Shahab Ullah, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Vietnam, requested the Vietnamese Minister to simplify the Vietnamese visa processing system which he said “is pretty stringent,” for tourists of Bangladesh, which the Minister assured of looking at.