Vietnam will officially issue international driving licences from early 2015 onwards and accept those granted by member states of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic in 1968.

According to Nguyen Van Quyen, Deputy Director of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN), the country has been implementing a project since 2013 to prepare the country for its participation in the Convention, which includes provisions on traffic signs and signals as well as driving licences.

Starting next year, Vietnam will accept driving licences issued by authorities in countries that are signatories of the Vienna convention without licence-holders having to apply for a Vietnamese licence.

At the same time, Vietnamese nationals who hold a Vietnamese driving licence can apply for an international permit valid in countries that are party to the Vienna Convention.

In order to implement the Convention, the Ministry of Transport issued Circular 48/2014/TT-BGTVT on October 15 this year regulating the process for taking international driving licences and the recognition of international driving licences in Vietnam, Quyen said.

International driving permits issued by Vietnam will be made in Vietnamese and a number of languages, including English, French, Russian and Chinese.

Quyen said the issuance of international driving licences was an important step in Vietnam’s global integration process, benefitting foreigners living in Vietnam as well as Vietnamese citizens living abroad.

The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and increase road safety by establishing standardised traffic rules amongst the participating parties.

The Convention was ratified at the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Conference on Road Traffic in Vienna in 1968. It came into effect in May 21, 1977. By August 2014, the Convention had a membership of 73 countries.-VNA