NEW DELHI: At a time of global uncertainty and post-Covid economic recovery, the India-Vietnam partnership will be a significant stabilising factor in the Indo-Pacific, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
Addressing an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Jaishankar said India's Act East Policy has been the guiding principle of our engagements with ASEAN partners, and Vietnam is no exception.
"The success of this policy has led us to adopt a larger Indo-Pacific approach that captures India's growing strategic interests more effectively. From the Indian perspective, Vietnam is a key partner both in the ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific context," he said.
"We already have a substantial agenda underway whether it is in commerce, connectivity or culture. Our political and defence cooperation has also been steadily growing. These can be further buttressed by interaction between the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative that has been proposed by India," the minister said.
Jaishankar said the last five years of the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Vietnam have been very productive.
"The next decade must be even more so. At a time of global uncertainty and post-Covid economic recovery, the India-Vietnam partnership will be a significant stabilising factor in the Indo-Pacific. Keeping our national ambitions and global responsibilities in mind, we must forge ahead," he said.
Jaishankar said the mutual trust and sincere bonds of friendship that have developed over this half-century have matured into a partnership.
"And it is truly a wide ranging one that encompasses political engagement, trade and investment ties, energy cooperation, development partnership, defence and security cooperation, and people-to-people relations," he said.
"What has been heartening to note is that neither side has ever stopped working to take ties to a higher level. On the contrary, this is a relationship that is continually a work in progress," Jaishankar added.
On the economic front, he said bilateral trade has been robust even in the midst of global uncertainties.
"It crossed the USD 10 billion mark in 2020, and is likely to exceed USD 12 billion this year. To realise its full potential, however, we should work towards promoting reliable, efficient and resilient supply chain systems and fashion a complementarity between India's vision of self-reliance and Vietnam's growing economic vitality.
We hope that the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement that is under review will help expand our trade targets," he added.