Ambassador Sandeep Arya Discusses Fortifying Vietnam-India Relations

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According to the Announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the invitation of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid a State visit to India from July 30 to August 1, 2024. On this occasion, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya gave an interview to the press about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's State visit to India:

Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya

The Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is developing strongly. Could you please tell us about the outstanding achievements in the bilateral cooperation in recent times?

The India-Vietnam relations is actually older than the milestone of establishing relations in 1972. Although comprehensive diplomatic relations were established in 1972, I think the period from 1947 to 1972 was also a very important period, when President Ho Chi Minh and Indian leaders had a close relationship, laying a solid foundation for the bilateral relationship. In addition to solidarity and mutual support, India sent representative officials to Hanoi from 1950 to 1972; laying the foundation for principles, approaches, and deep understanding between the leaders of the two countries.

Over the past 52 years, the two countries have steadily upgraded their bilateral relations to new levels and now have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During this journey, we can clearly see the political understanding, cooperation and mutual support at international forums such as the United Nations and other multilateral forums. Regarding trade and economic relations, the numbers show it all. Bilateral trade turnover has increased from less than USD 200 million to USD 15 billion, showing how economic cooperation has truly transformed. Regarding people-to-people exchange, culture, Yoga or Buddhism connections; and security and defense cooperation, etc., excellent results have also been recorded. With these solid foundations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit will be another testament to the continuous development of the relationship between the two countries.

Vietnam and India have always shared political trust and a strong friendship over time. What is the significance of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to India for the development of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Ambassador?

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit comes eight years after Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Vietnam in 2016. Since then, the two countries have had many high-level visits and in-depth discussions on a wide range of areas. Therefore, this visit is a very important occasion for both sides to look back on the achievements they have made, especially since the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016, in all areas such as politics, trade, economic cooperation, people-to-people exchange, security, defense, etc.

How does the Ambassador assess the priority areas of cooperation that the two countries can promote in the coming time?

Regarding the journey ahead, I think in the current complex world context, for Vietnam and India, economic growth, national development and prosperity are important priorities; through promoting trade, investment, business exchanges... The two countries also need to recognize the current complex changes, and how to cooperate effectively and support each other based on the traditional spirit of solidarity.

The next priority is technology - an extremely important area, including emerging technologies such as telecommunications, digital technology, technology in the transition to clean energy or military technology. I think that the two sides will exchange all areas of the sustainable and effective Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as open up new areas of cooperation.

How does the Ambassador assess Vietnam's contributions and position in the region and the world?

In my opinion, both India and Vietnam have similarities in their approach to international issues. Both sides believe that multilateralism and multilateral reform are extremely important. That is the foundation for us to cooperate effectively, develop our countries together, as well as demonstrate our role and voice in the region and the world.

As you know, the issues of developing countries are also of concern to both India and Vietnam, namely sustainable development, energy transition, climate change response, conflict resolution and political issues with a global perspective. In recent times, the Southern countries have also become of concern to India, Vietnam and the world in general.

Therefore, the similarity in stance once again affirms the desire of both sides to cooperate more closely to work towards mutual benefits, as well as benefits for the region and the world. For example, ASEAN and the Mekong-Ganga cooperation framework will be effective mechanisms for the two sides to cooperate more deeply.

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