Vietnam may allow visa-free entry for Indians

After Sri Lanka and Thailand, Vietnam may be the next country to allow visa-free entry for Indians, according to a report by the Vietnamese news agency VnExpress. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung has called for short-term visa waivers for major markets like China and India to drive tourism recovery. At a conference chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently, he also suggested waivers for visitors from wealthy countries such as Australia, Canada, the U.S., and the remaining 20 members of the 27-member EU. Currently, only nationals of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland can enter Vietnam without a visa. The proposal for expanding the visa exemption is a bid to boost tourism on several occasions even as Southeast Asian countries are racing to attract foreign visitors with friendly visa policies. Vietnam currently waives visas for nationals of 25 countries.