Vietnam - India: Deep Connection Through Cultural Exchange

How do you assess the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India in recent years?

Last year marked the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Indian economy and Vietnamese economy have really surged ahead post-pandemic. [Both India and Vietnam are] growing economies are double the rate of growth of the world's economy. So we are focusing a lot on economic relations.

Ambassador of India to Vietnam Sandeep Arya (Photo: Embassy of India, Hanoi).

In political exchanges, we have a huge amount of trust and understanding in appreciation, mutual support and solidarity. We are continuing political exchanges, trying to deepen the economic ties with a plan to further develop the strategic partnership between India and Vietnam.

At the level of people relations, [our connection] is very deep. We have Buddhist connections, also old civilization connections. In terms of interest in India arts and cultures, we are expanding the scale [of relations] in continuation of what we are doing. On the evening of August 15 in Hanoi Au Co Theatre Center, there will be a performance by Tetseo Sister, which is a group from India to perform for cultural exchange.

What are the key activities to promote people-to-people relations between two countries and the significance of their outcomes in bringing our peoples closer together and developing the Vietnam - India diplomatic relations?

India Vietnam 76 or 77

Over the last 2 months, [there are activities to promote people-to-people relations] like the celebration of International Yoga Day. In Vietnam, the interest in yoga was unbelievable, there were special events for yoga in 35 provinces - more than half the provinces in the country. The popularity of yoga is a good basis and we are planning to see how we can build upon it. At the next level, we think of how to deepen the practices of yoga [such as] a Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate degree. There is a depth of [the experiences] of yoga and there are lots of medical benefits of yoga that can be used to really deal with various ailments and health problems.

The Buddhist connections are already a very strong component of [people relations]. There are a lot of [Vietnamese] students going to study [India] in Masters and Doctorate programs, soon that part is going very well. Apart from the events with the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha every year, we are planning events like seminars, conferences, and exchanges.

There are also two education and training programs. Every year, more than 100 people from Vietnam will travel to India for training courses. There is an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship for 50 Vietnamese students every year going to study in India for Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate in different subjects. We are trying to continue to ensure that people can go for the most useful courses in India.

India Vietnam 76 or 77

In cultural exchanges, we have 3 to 6 groups of performers from India coming to various cities in Vietnam. We want to do more new means of [cultural exchanges]. For example, exchange of masters and doctorates students at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USH, Hanoi) and those in India. Another area which we are working on is film screenings. We are bringing the best of Indian movies to Vietnamese audiences. Also in tourism, India is among the top 10 tourists to Vietnam. In the future, we want to have more Indians travel to Vietnam and more Vietnamese travel to India.

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