Viet Nam, India set forth joint vision for peace, prosperity and people

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi co-chair the Vietnam-India Virtual Summit on December 21.

The leaders reaffirmed their wish to further advance the comprehensive strategic partnership, and agreed to increase high-level delegation exchanges as well as cooperation mechanisms between the two countries.

They shared the view that the enhanced defence and security ties would be an important factor to stability in Indo-Pacific. The PMs, therefore, agreed to promote military exchanges and step up collaboration in military industry, using India’s defence packages for Viet Nam.

The two sides will share information and cooperate in UN peacekeeping operations, while tightening their cooperation in security through existing dialogue mechanisms in order to cope with traditional and non-traditional maritime security threats and cyber security.

Stressing the link between security and prosperity, the leaders reiterated the significance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, peacefully addressing disputes in line with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and not using or threatening to use force.

They called for more efforts in fully and effectively realising the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and result-oriented negotiations to soon complete a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, especially the UNCLOS, not affecting legal rights and interests of all countries, including those not engaging in the negotiations.

The leaders emphasised the importance of ASEAN-India cooperation to maintaining peace, security and prosperity in the region, and consented to seek new, pragmatic cooperation areas.

The two sides will also intensify multi-lateral and regional collaboration, including in the United Nations, ASEAN-led mechanisms and Mekong Sub-regional cooperation.

The two sides will step up joint efforts in building a strong consensus for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

The two sides will work towards reliable, efficient and resilient supply chains, and will promote human-centric globalisation. They will strive to achieve the target of 15 billion USD of trade turnover at the earliest and will set higher levels of ambition for bilateral trade based on a concrete plan of action and new supply chains located in each other’s country.

Both sides will unceasingly upgrade bilateral economic ties through facilitating long-term investment in each other’s economy, boosting joint ventures, taking part in new global value chains, encouraging regional e-commerce and enhancing market access capacity.

The two sides will exploit the similarity in goals: India’s digital India and Vietnam’s digital society vision, as well as promote cooperation in the fields of civil nuclear and space technology, transformation technologies in IT and communications, ocean sciences, sustainable agriculture, water resources management, comprehensive health care, vaccine and pharmaceuticals, smart urban centres and start-up.

They will cooperate in new energy, renewable energy and technologies adaptive to climate change.

India will continue supporting capacity enhancement for Vietnamese localities, including the expansion of India’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) programme within the framework of Mekong-Ganga river cooperation and other programmes of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and e-ITEC in various areas.

Emphasising the long-lasting connection in culture and history between Viet Nam and India, the two sides will inherit and promote study on cultural heritage. Cooperation in cultural heritage conservation will be considered a main pillar in the two countries’ development partnership.

They will also make efforts to promote people-to-people exchange by increasing direct flights, facilitating travel with the simplification of visa procedures and tourism promotion.

The two PM expressed their belief that the joint vision will be a basis for a new era in the Viet Nam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. To realise the vision, the two sides will revise action programmes for each stage, starting from the 2021-23 period.

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