Jakarta (VNA) - Vietnam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and itsIndonesian counterpart Garuda Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) on cooperation expansion on August 23 in Indonesia’s capital city ofJakarta. 

The event was held on the sidelines of theofficial visit to Indonesia of Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen PhuTrong at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The document mentions codeshare flights, servicesupplies, technology maintenance and goods transport.

The MoU will elevate the partnership of the twoairlines in a mutually beneficial manner, said Duong Tri Thanh, DirectorGeneral of Vietnam Airlines, adding that the two sides have maintained goodrelations since 2006. 

Pahala Mansury, Director General of GarudaIndonesia affirmed that Vietnam is a key market for Indonesia, adding that thedeal will contribute to boosting tourism and trade between the two countries. 

Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia aremembers of SkyTeam – a global airline alliance with 20 members operating some16,609 daily flights to 177 countries. 

Vietnam’s national flag carrier currentlyoperates 90 routes with more than 400 flights daily to 20 domestic and 29international destinations. Meanwhile, its Indonesian counterpart flies to 85destinations across the world with more than 600 daily flights.

Vietnam currently leads the region in theexpansion rate of passenger traffic, while the demand of Indonesian aviationtransport is forecast to continue growing fast.-VNA