Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn fields questions on Monday during the National Assembly Standing Committee's ongoing 31st sitting Q&A session. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI As part of efforts to create conditions for Vietnamese citizens travelling abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been negotiating bilateral visa waivers with 15 countries to facilitate immigration.

Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn revealed the actions being taken on Monday during the National Assembly Standing Committee's ongoing 31st sitting Q&A session.

He was speaking in response to NA deputy Tạ Thị Yên’s queries from Điện Biên Province.

She cited the fact that in recent years, Việt Nam has become a favourite destination for tourists and signed visa exemption agreements with many countries to attract tourism. However, only a small number of nations have so far waived visa requirements for Vietnamese nationals, and the process of obtaining a visa for Vietnamese nationals remains challenging.

According to Sơn, Việt Nam is considered a safe travel destination with a diverse range of scenery. As a result of the country's openness and deep integration, not only people from around the world come to Việt Nam but Vietnamese citizens also want to travel in search of chances to expand their businesses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with authorities to simplify immigration procedures. Most recently, the National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Entry and Exit.

At the moment, 13 nations—the main travel destinations for Việt Nam— have unilaterally exempted visas. The ministry is in negotiations with other nations about bilateral visa waiver applications for official visas, he said.

Deputy Phạm Văn Hòa from Đồng Tháp Province brought up the issue of citizen safety, pointing out that a large number of Vietnamese students and lecturers are sent abroad by local universities and not coming home.

The deputy also asked for the responsibility of the embassies and consulate generals.

According to Minister Sơn, communication between Việt Nam and the rest of the world has significantly improved.

Minister Sơn said since the COVID-19 pandemic, exchanges between Việt Nam and the world have been strongly enhanced. Approximately 3.8 million Vietnamese nationals travelled abroad in 2022. By 2023, the number of Vietnamese people travelling overseas for study and work increased to more than 10 million. The number of Vietnamese students returning to study overseas has surged sharply.

There have been a number of law violations committed by those people, affecting cooperation between Việt Nam and other countries, he said, adding that the Prime Minister recently ordered relevant ministries and sectors to develop training regulations for our overseas workforce in order to ensure good compliance with internal regulations, contribute to the socioeconomic development of the host country, and improve relations between the two countries, he said.

Regarding ways to ease the export process for domestic companies and reduce the possibility of trade fraud or disputes, Sơn stated that several ministries and sectors have implemented innovative strategies to encourage Vietnamese import-export collaboration with other countries.

As one of the most open economies in the world, Việt Nam has negotiated 17 free trade agreements with 68 other nations to encourage import and export. Vietnamese exports to partner nations rose even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But in 2023, exports to a few EU nations fell as a result of those nations' own economic woes brought on by a fall in import demand. Countries are implementing new policies and laws at the same time. In an effort to find answers to challenges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed ministries and businesses about new laws.

According to him, the ministry has increased export routes to China by building connections by road and rail, and it is in the process of establishing rules and specifications for formal import and export with other partners.

In response to a query regarding steps taken to protect Vietnamese nationals in conflict areas, the diplomat said there had been conflicts in a number of locations recently. The ministry managed the prompt evacuation of Vietnamese citizens to safe locations in the event of violence. Work on protecting citizens in Việt Nam has been caried out promptly.

He said the ministry's future efforts will be concentrated on situational forecasting, identifying the likelihood of international or domestic crises and acting quickly to evacuate citizens while alerting nearby communities and working closely with Vietnamese partners.

Hà Giang Province's NA deputy Tráng A Dương made the request for citizen protection measures for migrant laborers, pointing out that protection mechanism with host countries remains inadequate, particularly in areas with no diplomatic representation office.

Sơn said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs have closely coordinated in sending our workers abroad. Not all countries have Vietnamese representative agencies. The foreign affairs ministry proposed close coordination with the Labour Management Board and concurrent ambassadors to promote their roles.

Responding to forced labour fraud, the minister said the fraud had been reported since 2020 and getting more complicated. The ministry has coordinated with many agencies and units to rescue and bring many people home.

In order to combat and prevent this kind of criminality and stop illegal immigration, he said collaboration with other nations in the area is essential. Việt Nam will continue to implement citizen protection work, support repatriation, and closely cooperate with host countries to rescue citizens who are victims of human trafficking and forced labour. VNS