August 25, 2020
MoUs were signed between institutions and entities in the domain of diplomacy and maritime relations.
The nations have agreed to continue strategic collaboration in important international fora like ASEAN and the UN Security Council.
12 Quick Impact Projects (QIP) focused on enhancing water management and creating educational infrastructure have been signed.
Potential collaborations in the domains of defence, space technology, marine sciences and civil nuclear energy have been identified.
Chaired by Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister (EAM), India, and H.E. Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, the India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation reconvened today to chart the future of bilateral economic collaboration. The meeting saw the strengthening of bilateral ties through the signing of two significant MoUs, the renewal of strategic commitment to cooperation in key international forums as well as the identification of areas of collaboration including defence, space technology, marine sciences and civil nuclear energy.
Key MoUs were signed between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS), New Delhi and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and also between the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi and Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands, Hanoi. Both nations agreed to increase collaboration within international forums including ASEAN and the UN Security Council where India and Vietnam will function as non-permanent members through 2021. India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the ASEAN’s Outlook on Indo-Pacific further stressed upon the need for the strengthening of mutual cooperation. Moreover, twelve Quick Impact Projects (QIP) focused on enhancing water management in the Mekong Delta region and the creation of a quality educational infrastructure were discussed for implementation. Bilateral opportunities in research through PhD fellowships as well as ITEC opportunities were also discussed during the meeting.
Bilateral collaboration between India and Vietnam have been observed in sectors including Food Processing, Electronic Components. Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Energy and IT/ITeS. Vietnamese interests in India include six investments worth a total investment amount of US$ 28.55 million and collaboration in mineral exploration, agro-chemicals, agro-processing, automobile components and coffee manufacturing. Statistics reveal that bilateral trade as of the 2019-20 period remained at US$12.34 billion. Vietnam is currently India’s fourth-largest trading partner among the ASEAN nations and the eighteenth largest contributor to bilateral trade among the nations of the world. Through the implementation of the MoUs and opportunities identified in the 17th India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, bilateral ties between both nations can expect to be significantly strengthened.