Online visa application system launched Foreigners are from now on able to register and fill in visa application forms provided at the website http://visa.mofa.gov.vn instead of getting the forms at Vietnamese representative agencies around the world.   DPM Pham Binh Minh asks relevant agencies to coordinate to operate the system effectively The system, part of a project on managing the online visa issue run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), was formally launched on March 14. This is the first time Vietnam has opened a website for online visa application and unified the process of issuing visa for foreigners. Foreigners and Vietnamese who bear foreign passports can also access the information related to visa to enter the country and their applications’ status on the website. The MOFA also inaugurated the Database Center to enhance automation in job handling and administrative reforms, link the ministry’s organs together in a unified network infrastructure and share database with other agencies and ministries. The visa applications are sent to the center and shared in the MOFA’s network and the links which the ministry shares with other Government agencies. The two launched projects are components of a project, which is funded by the World Bank (WB), on developing IT and communication in Vietnam.    Deputy PM Pham binh Minh, Information and Communication Minister and WB Country Director cut the ribbon to inaugurate the MOFA’s two projects. Addressing the launch, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh said that the two projects shows the MOFA’s resolve in improving working process and applying IT solutions in the ministry’s management. The utility of online visa issue is expected to attract more foreign individuals and businesses to visit and work in the country, contributing to promoting people-to-people exchanges and national socio-economic development. Deputy PM Minh expressed his thank to the Ministry of Information and Communication and the WB for their support and cooperation to promote IT and communication applications in the country. He asked relevant agencies to work closely together to operate effectively the newly launched systems, contributing to realizing the target of building an e-government in Vietnam. WB Country Director for Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa said the online visa application system will help shorten the visa issuing duration to two working days. This is a significant achievement of the country compared to many other countries, said Kwakwa. VGP