Vietjet Air has been licensed by Kazakhstan to open direct flights between the two countries.

The committee released its decision on September 26.

Vietjet Air is scheduled to conduct its first flight on the Cam Ranh-Almaty route at the end of October this year, according the leadership of the airline.

The airline will maintain regular flights on the route with a frequency of 2-3 flights/week on Airbus A-330s, then expand flights to other cities, said the airline.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic and trade relations between Vietnam and Kazakhstan have yielded positive gains since the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) officially took effect in October 2016. Kazakhstan is one of five members of this economic group.

Statistics unveiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs show two-way trade turnover reached US$615.5 million, up 72.4% year on year. Of the total, Vietnam raked in US$549.7 million from exports, up 72 ,8%, and spent US$65.8 million on imports, up 69.5%.

Bilateral trade exchanges in the first half of 2022 rose 57% year on year to US$303 million.

The resumption of direct flights between Vietnam and Kazakhstan is expected to create an important premise for promoting bilateral cooperation in the fields of transportation, trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.