ASEAN Foreign Ministers signed a framework agreement in Malaysia on July 25 allowing their citizens to travel within the region for up to two weeks without a visa.

This initiative was put forth by Vietnam at the 7^th meeting of immigration and consular officials in Hanoi with the aim of facilitating exchanges, tourism development, investment and co-operation among ASEAN member countries, including Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far signed visa exemption agreements with 46 countries and territories, mostly for diplomatic and official passport holders.

Within ASEAN, Vietnam has exempted visas for diplomatic, official and ordinary passport holders from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore (for up to 30 days) and the Philippines (for up to 21 days).

The Government has also decided to unilaterally exempt visas for citizens from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden, if the stay is less than 15 days.