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Jul 30, 2018 / 17:00

Prime Minister welcomes upcoming launch of Vietnam – LA direct air service

The project will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese tourists to Los Angeles and vice versa.

At a meeting with Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti in Hanoi last weekend, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has hailed the upcoming launch of a non-stop air route connecting Vietnam and the US's Los Angeles, saying that transportation is also a promising field in bilateral ties, according to the government portal.
Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti said he had held working sessions with the Vietnamese Ministries of Transport, and Industry and Trade to facilitate the launch of the direct air service and a Vietnamese Trade Office in the city.


 
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Photo: Chinhphu.vn
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Photo: Chinhphu.vn
PM Phuc suggested promoting further boosting economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Los Angeles. The PM told his guest that the US’s exports to Vietnam have kept increasing, up 19% year-on-year in the first six months of 2018. Vietnamese airlines also bought a large number of aircraft from the US in a short time.
Phuc stressed that Vietnam considers the US one of the most important partners and wants to continue promoting practical and effective development of the bilateral comprehensive partnership for the benefit of the two countries’ people, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, the PM urged US firms, including those owned by Vietnamese - American to push the US government to soon recogzise Vietnam as a market economy, open the door for more Vietnamese goods and reduce trade and non-trade barriers.
The leader reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of considering overseas Vietnamese an inseparable part and one of the important resources for national construction and development.
As California state, Los Angeles and Orange County are home to large number of people of Vietnamese origin, he asked them to create favorable conditions for them to study and work there.
Vietnam wants US investors to continue increasing investments in the Southeast Asian country. the Vietnam PM said, pledging all possible support for US firms.
For his part, Garcetti said he has loved Vietnam and its people since his first visit over 25 years ago. He told the PM that ties between Los Angeles and Vietnamese localities and businesses have kept growing over the past years with rising trade.
In an interview with BizLIVE, Garcetti said a direct flight between Vietnam and Los Angeles is now possible with Boeing Dreamliner 797 jets. He expected the US's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will approve a direct air route between the two countries by the end of this year so that the service can become operational next year.
National carrier Vietnam Airlines has said it is ready to launch a direct air route to the US and is waiting for the final approval from the FAA.
Meanwhile, startup airline Bamboo Airways, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLC Group, has hinted it will operate a non-stop service to the US after it take delivery of its first Boeing Dreamliner 797 jets in 2020.