Tourism officials from Vietnam and China met on April 7 in Beijing for the first negotiation session regarding a bilateral tourism cooperation agreement and a specific deal on joint tourist development of Ban Gioc - Detian Waterfalls.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Pham Quang Hung, Head of the International Cooperation Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Head of the Chinese delegation was Liu Kezhi, Director General of Marketing and International Cooperation, China ’s National Tourism Administration.

The two sides agreed that Ban Gioc-Detian tourism cooperation must ensure sustainable development for the neighbourhood and preservation of the local surroundings and environment.

The cooperation activities must contribute to strengthening the relations between the authorities and people in the border provinces, they emphasised.

Taking the Ban Gioc-Detian Waterfalls as a new model for cooperation, the two sides agreed to set up a mechanism for cooperation and draw out a tourism development masterplan for the area.

Concerning the tourism cooperation agreement during the 2010-2012 period, both sides agreed to increase exchanges of delegations and information, coordination in tourism promotion and human resource training. They also promised to facilitate cooperation and investment of tourist agents from both sides.

The two sides said they would speed up work for the early signing of the agreements, creating a foundation for bilateral cooperation in tourism as well as enhancing comprehensive, strategic partnership between Vietnam and China./.