HANOI: Vietnam’s flag carrier and Air France have signed an agreement to deepen their cooperation to tap the growing travel market between Vietnam and Europe.

Vietnam Airlines and Air France have been cooperating for 20 years on aircraft maintenance and crew training and began code-sharing in 2010, but they said the partnership agreement signed by their leaders on Tuesday will further their cooperation.

Under the agreement, which begins in November, Vietnam Airlines passengers will be able to connect to 70 European destinations, up from 14, and Air France passengers will be able to reach 20 Vietnamese destinations, up from three.

Vietnam received 10 million foreign tourists in 2016, up 26% from the previous year, with China, South Korea, Japan and the United States the top sources of visitors.