The seventh deputy-ministerial level political consultation meeting and the fourth meeting of the Vietnam - India strategic dialogue took place in Hanoi on May 25.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and his Indian counterpart Anil Wadhwa extensively talked all possible steps to further facilitate all-level visits, thus laying a firm foundation for other cooperative ties.

They agreed to elevate two-way trade to 15 billion USD by 2020 and increase all-round collaboration, especially in fields that are pillars of their strategic partnership including politics, economics, national defence-security, science-technology and culture-education.

Deputy Foreign Minister Trung reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of valuing the traditional friendship and strategic partnership with India, backing India’s Act East policy and its all-around connectivity with Southeast Asia and increasingly important role in Asia-Pacific and the world.

Deputy FM Wadhwa, for his part, said India considers Vietnam a significant pillar in its Act East policy.

Turning attention to regional and global issues of shared concern, both sides vowed mutual support at regional and global forums, especially the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the World Trade Organisation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other multilateral forums.

India affirmed backing to Vietnam ’s bid for a seat at the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure. Vietnam also declared its support to India ’s membership to the UN Security Council for the 2021-2022 tenure and its hoped-for permanent membership status once this mechanism expands.

On the East Sea issue, the Indian side voiced support to Vietnam and ASEAN’s position on the settlement of disputes by peaceful means in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, towards the early formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

The guest committed to continued joint work to explore and tap oil and gas in Vietnam ’s waters.

VNA