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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son met with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar within the framework of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM-56) in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 12. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
At the meeting on July 12, the two Foreign Ministers highly appreciated the strong developments in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in economics and trade. The two sides agreed to coordinate in organizing high-level delegation exchanges and effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms, including the Vietnam-India Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Since its establishment in 1982, the Joint Commission mechanism has been maintained regularly by the two countries. The most recent meeting - the 17th meeting of the Joint Commission - took place online on August 25, 2020. The two sides reviewed the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the past two years (since the 16th meeting held in August 2018 in Hanoi) and proposed new measures and directions for cooperation, towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (January 7, 1972 - 2022).
Thus, after more than three years, the heads of the Vietnamese and Indian Foreign Ministries are preparing to meet at the next meeting of the Joint Committee. It is worth remembering that, during the ASEAN-India Special Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi in June 2022, Minister Bui Thanh Son invited his host counterpart to visit Vietnam and co-chair the 18th meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
It can be seen that the presence of Minister S. Jaishankar in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from October 15-17 is part of the exchange of delegations, high-level contacts and increasingly consolidated political trust between the two countries. In less than four months, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India have met twice (at the expanded G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on May 20 and at the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 7). Defense and security cooperation has become an important pillar with strategic cooperation activities. In the first half of this year, both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Public Security of Vietnam paid official visits to the country of the Ganges.
Two-way trade turnover reached a record high of over 15 billion USD in 2022, exceeding the target set by the two countries' senior leaders. Just four years after the first direct flight (2019), there are now more than 50 direct flights per week connecting major cities of the two countries. These "telling" numbers show the ability to exploit the enormous potential for cooperation between India and its "close and trusted partner", as Minister S. Jaishankar called it at the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries at the Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi on June 17, 2022.
The late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong (1906-2000) once affirmed that the relationship between Vietnam and India is “as clear as the cloudless sky”. That comment remains meaningful in the context of the current world and regional situation, when competition between major powers continues to develop complicatedly, leading to frictions, political conflicts and many hot spots. As Minister Bui Thanh Son said at the 77th Independence Day Celebration of the Republic of India on August 16 in Hanoi, the close friendship between the two nations has been proven over time and has become a model in relations between countries around the world.
To promote the ever-growing “model” relationship, the head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have much to discuss when he co-chairs the first-ever meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Commission with a distinguished guest from the largest country of the South Asian subcontinent over the next two busy days.
| According to a press release issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on October 14, India and Vietnam share a strong Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Vietnam is a key partner in India’s Act East policy and Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit will provide an opportunity to review progress in a number of areas and discuss ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation. |
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