Ambassador highlights Vietnam-India cooperation prospects
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang’s ongoing visit to India and his attendance at the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit from January 9-12 hold significance to bilateral ties, underscoring Vietnam’s policy of treasuring its ties with India, said Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai.
During an interview recently granted to the Vietnam News Agency in New Delhi, Ambassador Hai said the visit aims to enhance interactions with leaders the Indian business community, and promote opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Gujarat state specifically, and between Vietnam and India as a whole.
The summit, initiated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Governor of Gujarat state, has been held biennially since 2003 to create a business networking forum, facilitate knowledge sharing, and establish cooperative relationships for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
According to the Ambassador, Deputy PM Quang is the first high-ranking Vietnamese leader to attend the event, marking the first high-level exchange between the two nations this year. This presents an opportunity for the Deputy PM to engage with leaders of India and Gujarat on measures and strategies to further boost ties between Vietnam and India, and between their localities, with the goal of achieving a two-way trade volume of 20 billion USD in the coming time.
The diplomat revealed that the Vietnamese leader will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, address the Vietnam business forum and hold working sessions with leading Indian firms such as Adani, Zydus, SMS Phamaceutical, UNO Minda.
He is also scheduled to meet with heads of delegations from various participating countries with members of the Vietnamese delegation actively joining discussions on various topics at the summit.
During these meetings and working sessions, the Deputy PM will introduce Vietnam's socio-economic development policies, emphasising incentives for investment, trade and tourism. He will also highlight the potential of cooperation between Vietnam and India, and with Gujarat specifically; and share Vietnam’s policy-making experiences concerning the fourth industrial revolution, technology and innovation, and sustainable development, Hai said.
To further bolster bilateral economic and trade ties, he suggested enhancing more meetings between leaders and actively realising signed agreements, including those reached at the 18th meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Commission in October 2023, and the framework agreement on agricultural cooperation.
Additionally, Vietnam and India should create favourable conditions for their goods to penetrate each other's markets, he said, adding that Vietnam should encourage Indian enterprises to invest in fields of its strength such as information technology, infrastructure, seaports, renewable energy, processing industry, high-tech agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.
Another key measure is to increase the frequency of direct flights between the two countries, thereby promoting tourism and people-to-people exchange, ultimately establishing a solid foundation for bilateral relations, he concluded.
