Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (centre), Indian Ambassador Pranay Verma (third, left) and other officials at the workshop in Hanoi on January 9 (Photo: baoquocte.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of ForeignAffairs and the Indian Embassy in Vietnam held a workshop in Hanoi on January 9to discuss the two countries’ cooperation potential in various fields.
The event, themed “Meet India”, attracted Vietnameseministries, sectors and localities, along with representatives of the IndianEmbassy, Consulate General and businesses.
Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son saidVietnam and India boast long-standing relations that have been increasinglyenhanced.
Highlighting political and economic ties, hesaid over the last couple of years, the countries have organised fourhigh-level mutual visits, showing their high political trust. Meanwhile, bilateraltrade surged from 5.6 billion USD in 2014 to 11.5 billion USD in 2019.
Connections in investment, culture – education,tourism, security – defence and at international forums have also beenintensified, he noted, adding that localities have also played an importantrole in strengthening the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership.
Vietnam holds the ASEAN chairmanship andnon-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in 2020, so the twocountries’ governments hope to bolster links to achieve substantive outcomes atall levels, thereby helping to further deepen their partnership, the officialsaid.
For his part, Indian Ambassador Pranay Vermaaffirmed that the two nations’ traditional relations, built on mutual trust andunderstanding, have been flourishing. India considers Vietnam a pillar in itsAct East policy, and also one of the main partners in its Indo-Pacific vision.
According to Verma, there remains huge untappedpotential for bilateral cooperation.
Indian businesses also wish to boost long-termdevelopment partnerships with Vietnam via credit provision, support programmesand capacity building initiatives that can contribute to grassrootssocio-economic development, he noted.
At the workshop, participants discussedcooperation opportunities in pharmaceuticals, energy, support industries, smartcity building, information technology and tourism./.
VNA
