India and Vietnam explore new opportunities for cooperation

India and Vietnam on Monday explored new opportunities for partnership to support each other's economic development and national security amid the geopolitical turmoil triggered by the crisis in Ukraine and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Delhi:India and Vietnam on Monday explored new opportunities for partnership to support each other's economic development and national security amid the geopolitical turmoil triggered by the crisis in Ukraine and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two sides held extensive deliberations on ways to further ramp up cooperation at the 12th round of political consultations and the ninth round of strategic dialogue in Hanoi.

Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), headed the Indian team at the meetings. The MEA said Kumar reaffirmed India's position on Vietnam describing it as a key partner for New Delhi's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific vision. "Both sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, especially in the context of the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as they explored new opportunities for partnership to support each other's economic development and national security," the MEA said in a statement.

There has been an upward trajectory in strategic ties between India and Vietnam in the backdrop of rising Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea region. The MEA said the two sides expressed satisfaction over their close coordination at regional and multilateral forums and agreed to enhance their bilateral cooperation in line with India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and the ASEAN's Outlook on Indo-Pacific to achieve shared security, prosperity and growth for all in the region. Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region.

India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. However, several ASEAN member countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims. The MEA said the Indian and the Vietnamese sides reviewed recent developments in their comprehensive strategic partnership guided by the "joint vision for peace, prosperity and people" adopted by the prime ministers of India and Vietnam during their virtual summit in 2020.

"They expressed satisfaction over the sustained momentum in their multifaceted relations, despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with frequent high-level engagements," the MEA said. It said "future cooperation agenda", including high-level exchanges and activities to mark the 50th anniversary of India-Vietnam diplomatic relations this year, also figured in the talks. Relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of "strategic partnership" during the visit of Vietnam's then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007. In 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations were further elevated to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".