PM’s state visit to further intensify Vietnam - India comprehensive strategic partnership

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s state visit to India from July 30 to August 1 focuses on further intensifying the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership in multiple spheres, thus responding to current geopolitical and economic changes, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Thanh Binh.

Granting an interview to the media ahead of the trip, made at the invitation of Indian PM Narendra Modi, Binh noted that Vietnam and India share time-tested relations and close-knit friendship, nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, preceding Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, along with generations of the two countries’ leaders and people.

This visit is the first by a Vietnamese or Indian PM to each other’s countries since the two sides established the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. PM Chinh is also one of the first foreign leaders to pay a visit to India since this country held the Lok Sabha (lower house) election and its new-tenure government took office. The trip coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Accords, on which Indian played a critically important role in the negotiations and signing.

He said the visit is of great significance as it aims to affirm Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with India and help strengthen relations between leaders of the two countries, especially between the two PMs.

It looks to consolidate the traditional cooperation areas and expand ties to the fields matching the two sides’ potential and strengths such as electronics, telecommunications, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, renewable energy, green economy, digital economy, AI, semiconductor, new material, and essential minerals.

Besides, the visit is also a chance for the two countries to increase exchanging views on regional and international security and strategic issues and affirm their mutual support at multilateral forums of shared interest, according to Binh.

The Deputy Minister went on to say that the Vietnam - India comprehensive strategic partnership has been growing vigorously on the basis of the solid relations and high political trust. Connections between their Parties, States, parliaments, and people have been expanded, with visits and meetings at all levels and on all channels organised frequently. Cooperation and dialogue mechanisms, as well as specialised cooperation sub-committees, have been maintained and proved effective.

Defence - security cooperation is an important pillar and stands at a strategic level, he said, noting that the two countries signed a joint vision statement on defence partnership and a memorandum of understanding on mutual logistics support in June 2022. They have also worked together in personnel training, the defence industry, sending of naval ships to visit each other, and provision of credit and non-refundable aid packages.

Meanwhile, Binh added, bilateral trade increased 2.5-fold since the upgrade of the bilateral ties to the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 to nearly 15 billion USD in 2023. They still boast substantial potential for trade - investment cooperation. Large enterprises of India are boosting collaboration with Vietnam in such strategic areas as renewable energy, processing industry, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, seaport infrastructure, and logistics. Auto maker VinFast of Vietnam also started work on an automobile plant worth 2 billion USD in Tamil Nadu state.

Highlighting the flourishing cooperation in science - technology, information - communications, education - training, education - training, and culture - tourism, he elaborated that there are over 50 direct flights per week between the two countries at present. India is among the three countries posting the fastest growth in the number of tourists to Vietnam, with its visitors rising 2.5-fold from 170,000 in 2019 to 400,000 last year. For the last 10 years, it has provided nearly 3,000 short- and long-term scholarships for Vietnam under different programmes. Its government has also supported a project on restoring monuments at the My Son Sanctuary, a world heritage site in Quang Nam province.

The two countries are enhancing partnerships in new and potential fields like renewable energy, semiconductor, innovation, green economy, digital transformation, information technology, smart agriculture, and pharmaceutical.

In addition, they have also coordinated closely and supported each other at multilateral forums, particularly those within the United Nations framework and the ASEAN-led regional forums, Binh noted.

He perceived that the bilateral relations have been developing comprehensively in almost all areas, and now hold much potential and opportunities to grow further in the time ahead./.