Vietnam and India held their sixth Political Consultation and third Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi on April 16-17, focusing on measures to further boost the two countries’ strategic partnership.

At the meeting, Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh and his Indian counterpart Anil Wadhwa spoke highly of the rapid development of the bilateral strategic partnership, particularly after Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s State visit to India in November 2013.

They agreed to strengthen delegation exchanges in the coming time, and coordinate to ensure the success of President Pranab Mukherjee’s State visit to Vietnam slated for the second half of this year.

They also discussed ways to effectively implement the 2013-2015 Action Programme in order to develop the strategic partnership in a strong and comprehensive manner, especially in politics, economics, security-defence, science-technology, culture and education.

The two sides also shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the maintenance of peace, stability, security and maritime safety in the East Sea, and agreed to continue supporting each other at regional and global forums.

They reached a consensus that the next Political Consultation and Strategic Dialogue will be held in Vietnam in 2016.

During his stay in India, Deputy FM Vinh paid courtesy visits to National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed.-VNA