India and Vietnam signed nine agreements to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership and enhance cooperation in the fields of customs, agriculture, legal, radio and television broadcast, culture and tourism. This was stated by Secretary East of the Ministry of External Affairs Jaideep Mazumdar in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in New Delhi.
India & Vietnam Sign Nine Agreements
Why In News
- India and Vietnam signed nine agreements to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership and enhance cooperation in the fields of customs, agriculture, legal, radio and television broadcast, culture and tourism. This was stated by Secretary East of the Ministry of External Affairs Jaideep Mazumdar in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in New Delhi.
- He said both the leaders agreed to further deepen the India-Vietnam relationship by increasing economic, strategic, and cultural ties. He said Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy, and India-Vietnam bilateral trade has reached 15 billion US dollars.
Agreements
- The two sides signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and finalised three other documents to broadbase cooperation in a range of areas following wide-ranging talks between PM Modi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
- It was also decided that India will provide USD 300 million credit line to Vietnam primarily to strengthen the Southeast Asian nation’s maritime security.
- An agreement was sealed between the central banks of the two countries for rolling out digital payment connectivity.
- Prime Minister Chinh arrived in New Delhi night on a three-day visit that is aimed at further expanding the comprehensive strategic ties between the two countries.
- “In our Act East policy and our Indo-Pacific vision, Vietnam is our important partner… We support development, not expansionism (Hum vistarbad nahi, vikasvad ka samarthan karte hei),” PM Modi said in Hindi in his media statement.
- “We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said.
- PM Modi said that both sides decided that cooperation will be strengthened to deal with terrorism and cyber security issues.
- “We believe that ‘Developed India 2047’ and Vietnam’s ‘Vision 2045’ have accelerated development in both countries. This is opening up many new areas of mutual cooperation,” PM Modi said.
- “And therefore, to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, today we have adopted a new plan of action,” he said.
- PM Modi said new steps have been taken for cooperation in the field of defence and security.
- The two prime ministers also remotely inaugurated an Army Software Park at Telecommunications University Nha Trang. It has been built with New Delhi’s development assistance.
- Both sides also agreed on the need for closer cooperation to remove trade barriers with a view to facilitating and enhancing bilateral trade. They concurred that the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should generate a more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative regime for both countries.
- The leaders agreed to continue efforts to promote investment flows between the two countries. Vietnam welcomes Indian investment in infrastructure, high technology, source technology, clean technology, IT, the support and manufacturing industries, textiles, the cars and materials industry, green agriculture, smart agriculture, innovation and startups, semiconductors, renewable energy and energy conservation projects, electricity generation, biogas, and polyester fabrics.
- Meanwhile, India would welcome investment from Vietnam in agriculture, agro-processing, aquaculture, wood processing, urban development and infrastructure, production of bamboo and forestry products, hospitality and tourism, digital technology, e-vehicles, healthcare, and services. This mutual commitment aims to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.
- India welcomed Vietnam’s decision to join the Coalition on the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and decision to sign the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. Vietnam appreciated India’s Global Bio-fuel Alliance initiative.
- As two coastal countries, they agreed to bolster cooperation in oceanography, marine sciences, and the blue economy, as well as in capacity building in this area. The leaders also reiterated their mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including exploration and production on Vietnam’s continental shelf.
- To strengthen their CSP, the two sides agreed to enhance sharing of experiences in building regulations and policies supporting the promotion of e-commerce and the digital economy. Businesses from both sides will take advantage of e-commerce to improve export capacity and participate in regional and global value chains sustainably.
- They also encouraged relevant government agencies and businesses to explore cooperation opportunities in the green economy, circular economy, digital economy, and critical industries such as rare earth elements, semiconductors, and nano materials.
- Regarding innovation and science and technology cooperation, both leaders reiterated the significance of digital technologies and encouraged the development of a framework to promote bilateral cooperation in financial innovation and digital payments between Vietnam and India.
- Recognising the needs of both countries for digital transformation and energy transition, the leaders encouraged greater exchanges and cooperation in areas such as digital public infrastructure, space technology applications, renewable energy, biotechnology, and disaster resilience technologies.
- The leaders noted with satisfaction the ongoing collaboration in the peaceful use of atomic energy and agreed to intensify follow-ups in various avenues emerging from the third India-Vietnam Joint Committee Meeting on atomic energy.
- They also welcomed the progress towards the establishment of an ASEAN-India tracking, data reception station, and data processing facility in Vietnam.
Conclusion
- Vietnam Prime Minister praised PM Modi’s leadership, emphasising that under his leadership, India had become the fifth-largest economy in the world and one of the top powers with a striking global role. Emphasizing that the New Delhi-Hanoi strategic partnership has entered a new period, PM Pham Minh Chinh extended an invitation to PM Modi to visit Vietnam.
