Vietnam-Belarus visa exemption agreement: significant step forward in bilateral ties
VOV.VN - The visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders between Vietnam and Belarus, effective from January 30, 2025, marks a significant step forward in the cooperation between the two countries.
On December 8, 2023, in Hanoi, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and her Belarusian counterpart Evgeny Shestakov officially signed the agreement on behalf of the Governments of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Belarus.
Under the agreement, both countries’ ordinary passport holders will be allowed to stay without a visa for up to 30 days for each entry, with the total length of stay in the other country not exceeding 90 days within a year.
The signing of the visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders between Vietnam and Belarus is a clear demonstration, marking a new step in the long-standing friendly relations between the two countries. It also opens up plenty of opportunities for deeper cooperation across multiple fields.
This is viewed as an effort by the Vietnamese Government to facilitate international tourism in general, and specifically Belarusian tourists to Vietnam, thereby contributing to the development of tourism, strengthening cooperation, cultural exchanges, market exploration, and boosting the development of bilateral relations in a multitude of areas.
The agreement also reflects the Vietnamese Government’s desire to establish suitable immigration mechanisms based on reciprocity and bilateral visa exemptions with appropriate partner countries to facilitate the movement of people between the two sides.
Vietnam and Belarus have enjoyed sound political and diplomatic relations, with the two sides regularly exchanging delegations and maintaining contacts at various levels.
In addition to traditional areas of cooperation such as politics, diplomacy, economics, and trade, cooperation in other fields like security, defence, education, and culture has also been prioritized by both countries.
Vietnam and Belarus signed a visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders in 1993. Since 2015, Belarusian citizens (regardless of passport type) have been granted unilateral visa exemption when entering Vietnam.
