Vietnam-Saudi Arabia strengthen cooperation in culture, sports and tourism

Deputy Minister Ho An Phong received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam.

On behalf of the leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong sent congratulations to the Ambassador and all staff of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Hanoi on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (September 23, 1930 - September 23, 2025).

The Deputy Minister highly appreciated the role and efforts of the Ambassador in promoting bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, sports and tourism; expressed the hope that the Ambassador would continue to have specific activities to develop the bilateral cooperation in line with the potential and advantages for the common development of the two countries.

Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Ho An Phong emphasized: Vietnam and Saudi Arabia are two nations with unique cultures. The Party and State of Vietnam always consider culture as the spiritual foundation and the internal driving force of development. Vietnam is determined to preserve its national identity while absorbing the quintessence of world culture. With its available potential and conditions, Saudi Arabia can become a center for organizing major international events. Cultural exchanges between the two countries will create sustainable values, contributing to connecting the two nations.

During the exchange, the two sides agreed to promote substantive cooperation. Regarding tourism, although the number of Saudi Arabian visitors to Vietnam has increased recently, it is still not commensurate with the potential. The reason is that there are no direct flights and tourism promotion activities between the two countries are still limited. Vietnam is ready to cooperate to further facilitate travel procedures for Saudi Arabian citizens, contributing to maintaining growth momentum, towards the goal of welcoming 23-25 ​​million international visitors this year.

In the field of sports, cooperation between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia is mainly at the federation and association level. Deputy Minister Ho An Phong hopes that the two sides will expand cooperation, including in strong sports such as football. With resources and experience, Saudi Arabia can support Vietnam in developing these sports, especially football.

Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy expressed his agreement with the opinions from the Vietnamese side. He affirmed that both peoples are proud of their origins and historical achievements. This is an important foundation to promote cooperation between the two countries. In addition, relations in the fields of culture, sports and tourism have contributed to strengthening bilateral relations. People-to-people exchanges and tourism between the two countries have made many strides.

The Ambassador assessed Vietnam as a safe destination, with increasingly developed tourism infrastructure and a continuous increase in the number of Saudi Arabian tourists to Vietnam. He emphasized that both Vietnam and Saudi Arabia have an economic vision for the future. In the vision to 2030, Saudi Arabia attaches importance to tourism culture, aiming to welcome 119 million international visitors.

The Ambassador hopes that Vietnam will participate in the 2030 World Exhibition EXPO in the capital Riyadh and expressed hope that Vietnamese football will participate in the 2034 World Cup. Vietnam will soon issue a visa exemption policy for Saudi Arabian citizens.

The two sides agreed to strengthen substantive cooperation in culture, sports and tourism.

At the end of the meeting, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong acknowledged and thanked the Ambassador for his proposals, affirming that Vietnam will attend the 26th General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Riyadh from November 1 to 7, 2025.

He emphasized Vietnam's interest in major cultural events, expressing his wish that the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia relationship will continue to develop substantively and effectively; the two sides are good, sincere friends, supporting each other in international forums.

Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper