India considers Vietnam important partner in Indo-Pacific

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai (7th from right), Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh with staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy in India (Photo: VNA)

New Delhi (VNA) – Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh affirmed that Vietnam is a pillar in India's Act East policy and an important partner of the South Asian country in the Indo-Pacific during a ceremony to celebrate the 78th National Day of Vietnam in New Delhi on September 20.

Singh praised Vietnam’s growth and development achievements over the past years and expressed his delight at the sustainable development of traditional relations between India and Vietnam which are based on solidarity, trust, extensive understanding and similar interests.

He appreciated achievements that the two countries have obtained in the comprehensive strategic partnership, from political interaction to cooperation in economic development, defence-security, energy and science-technology, culture-education and people-to-people exchanges.

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai showed his gratefulness to the Indian Government and people and international friends for their precious support for Vietnam’s struggle for liberation and national reunification in the past as well as the current construction and development.

Hai highly valued the effective cooperative relationship between the two countries, affirming that India is one of Vietnam's five comprehensive strategic partners while highlighted that the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership has achieved solid sustainable development progresses through sound relations in politics, diplomatic affairs, national defence and security cooperation, among others.

Aviation cooperation between the two countries has seen an exceptional growth with nearly 60 direct flights every week. Vietnam has become a favourite destination for Indian visitors with 250,000 coming to the S-shaped country in the first eight months of 2023. Bilateral trade reached 15 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to rocket in the coming time as many conglomerates of both sides are seeking investment opportunities in each other./.