According spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang, the resumption plan has two stages. The first one will begin on December 15 with the operation of flights between Vietnam and destinations of high safety rates including Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and San Francisco or Los Angeles. The second stage starting from January next year will consider other destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong (China), Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, and Moscow.
According to her, those allowed to enter Vietnam currently are Vietnamese citizens; people entering for diplomatic, official, or business purposes; experts; investors; skilled workers and their families; and foreign students studying in Vietnam.
People coming to Vietnam to learn about the market, attend conferences and seminars, visit relatives; overseas Vietnamese visiting relatives; and international tourists participating in pilot tourism programmes in Vietnam must have a certificate of vaccination against COVID-19 of recovery from the disease. Those on entry will have to comply with medical conditions and quarantine regulations during their stay in Vietnam.
At the press briefing, Hang also said Vietnamese citizens’ demand for returning home is high as the Lunar New Year festival is coming near and many Vietnamese workers and students have their visas expired.
The Foreign Ministry is working closely with ministries, agencies and localities to arrange flights carrying Vietnamese citizens home, taking into consideration the overseas Vietnamese's wish, the pandemic situation and quarantine capacity in the country, she said.
About the protection of Vietnamese citizens and enterprises in Myanmar, Hang said the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar have kept constant watch on the situation in Myanmar and Vietnamese citizens and enterprises there. A number of citizen protection and consular measures have been implemented to ensure their lives, assets, legitimate rights and interests.
The ministry and the embassy have also asked Myanmar authorities to enhance measures to ensure the safety of lives and assets of Vietnamese citizens and enterprises there in line with the two countries’ agreements as well as international law and practices.
As regards the repatriation of 17 Vietnamese crewmen who survived in the sinking of the Huoei Crystal vessel in the waters bordering Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on December 1, Hang said there were 18 Vietnamese crewmen aboard the Panama-registered vessel.
After hearing the news, the Vietnamese representative agencies in Japan, the RoK and DPRK immediately contacted relevant agencies in the countries to confirm the information and requested urgent search and rescue.
On December 2, a RoK ship saved 17 sailors and took them to the RoK’s Mukho port, Donghae city, Gangwon province. The search for the last crewman continued until December 4 evening but without any result.
The owner of the vessel and insurance firms had contacted the crewmen and started procedures to pay insurance benefits in line with regulations. The repatriation of these victims will depend on their wish, she said.
