President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse will pay a State visit to India from March 2-4 at the invitation of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. 

President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse will pay a State visit to India from March 2-4 

The visit takes place at a time when the Vietnam – India traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation have been developing extensively, affirming that Vietnam consistently pursues an external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of international ties, including attaching importance to the friendship with India. 

The two sides established a strategic partnership in 2007 and lifted it to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. 

On political ties, they conducted the exchange of high-level delegations and cooperation mechanisms such as the Vietnam – India Inter-Governmental Committee on Scientific-Technological and Cultural-Education Cooperation, political consultations and strategic dialogues between the two foreign ministries. 

Bilateral national defence-security links keep improving with the upgrade of national defence dialogue from deputy ministerial into ministerial level in June 2016 and the establishment of a national defence dialogue mechanism in 2003. Extended defence ties were seen in naval, ground and air forces with a focus on training, defence industry and vessel visits. 

Economic and trade ties are considered one of the pillars in bilateral relations by the two governments. India is among Vietnam’s top 10 trade partners of Vietnam while Vietnam is a top priority in India’s Look East policy. 

Two-way trade was estimated at 7.5 billion USD in 2017, up 37.7 percent annually. As of late November 2017, India registered capital of 756 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 28th out of 126 countries and territories investing in the country. Vietnam currently invests in seven projects worth 6.15 million USD in India. 

India is assisting Vietnam in personnel training in many fields via providing scholarships and establishing training centres in Hanoi, the central city of Da Nang and Nha Trang city in Khanh Hoa province. 

The two nations signed a cultural exchange programme for 2015-2017 and held exchanges, fairs and exhibitions to popularise culture and tourism. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing Nalanda University to pave the way for further Buddhism cooperation, while India opened the India Cultural Centre in Hanoi to popularise Bollywood movies, yoga and Buddhism. 

India transferred technologies to Vietnam and boosted technical coordination in the fields of remote sensing, nano, bio and information technology, oceanography and climate change. 

Vietnam and India have offered mutual support in multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations. As coordinator in the India-ASEAN partnership for 2015-2018, Vietnam supports India’s “Act East” policy, and its initiatives to boost regional connectivity, especially Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam and Mekong Ganga Cooperation.

President advocates enhanced trade ties, maritime connectivity with India

President Tran Dai Quang. 

President Tran Dai Quang strongly supported the enhancement of trade ties and maritime and aviation connectivity between Vietnam and India in an interview with Press Trust of India (PTI) ahead of his visit to the country next month.

The president will pay a State visit to India on March 2-4 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind.

President Quang told the news agency that India and Vietnam are "blessed" with strategic locations in South Asia and South East Asia, respectively, and there is immense potential for the two countries to cooperate in different areas.

"Furthermore, both countries are endowed with advantages to develop maritime economy. In this regard, we could increase information exchange and share experience in formulating maritime strategies," he said.

He added both countries have forged a high level of political trust through mutual visits at the high and lower levels, and worked closely for effective implementation of the signed agreements, particularly the Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation for 2015-2020, the PTI reported.

"In order to achieve the target of 15 billion USD of bilateral trade turnover by 2020, both sides need to promote investment in areas where India’s advantages coincide with Vietnams demands, step up aviation and maritime connectivity, and reduce and work towards abolition of the trade barriers so as to create favourable conditions for the two-way trade," it quoted President Quang.

The Vietnamese leader also outlined defence, security and trade as effective strategic areas of cooperation between the two countries.

He said the both nations are beneficial from young population, large workforce, huge markets and rapid economic growth. “Hence, the two countries may promote cooperation in such areas as production, manufacturing, infrastructure development, renewable energy, information technology... and new technology application such as biotechnology, green agriculture, nano technology, new materials, among others," he stated.

Additionally, he applauded Indian initiatives, including “Make in India”, “Digital India” and “100 Smart Cities”, and India’s achievements in developing a knowledge economy, saying they offer multiple opportunities for cooperation, investment and business for enterprises of both countries.

VNA