Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 20: Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla stated on Wednesday that the new and improved connectivity between Vietnam and India will offer commercial and tourism prospects, boosting both nations’ economies.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Birla and Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue restored suspended direct flight services between the two countries and also inaugurated air services on new routes, giving air services between the two countries a new dimension.
VietJet, a Vietnamese airline, operated regular flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to New Delhi prior to the onset of the epidemic. Aside from that, charter flights to the major Buddhist spiritual centre of Bodh Gaya were also available.
However, services that had been stopped following the outbreak have now been restored during Birla’s visit. On April 29 and 30, the two existing services between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and New Delhi will restart.
In addition, Hanoi-Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City-Mumbai, and the southern resort island of Phu Quoc will also have new routes connecting them to New Delhi and Mumbai. From June 2, Vietjet Air will operate four weekly roundtrip flights on the HCM City-Mumbai route and three weekly roundtrip flights on the Hanoi-Mumbai route. From September 8 and 9, four roundtrip flights will be available every week on the Phu Quoc-Mumbai route, and three roundtrip flights will be available on the Phu Quoc-New Delhi route.
On Tuesday, a three-day visit by an Indian parliamentary delegation led by Birla arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, and held bilateral meetings with several high-level Vietnamese leaders.
Birla will lay a wreath at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and meet with Ngyuen Van Nen, the Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City, during his three-day visit to Vietnam. On Thursday, he will attend a community-cum business gathering in Ho Chi Minh City. MPs CP Joshi, Riti Pathak, Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Rajani Patil, Harnath Singh Yadav, Mitesh Rameshbhai Patel, and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh are among those accompanying the Lok Sabha Speaker.
