On September 12, in New Delhi, within the framework of his working trip to India to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung had talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Government Information and Communications Department.
At the talks, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung emphasized that in the context of a volatile regional and world situation, Vietnam and India have always been close, loyal and steadfast friends; the relationship between the two countries has been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, demonstrating the profound level of bilateral relations, the maturity of political trust, sharing vision and converging strategic interests; opening up many open cooperation opportunities in the future.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the views and goals, development guidelines of Vietnam and India have many similarities, creating opportunities for the two countries to accompany each other in many fields.
The two Leaders agreed that Vietnam and India are two of the fastest growing economies in the world, with high complementarity, and the potential for cooperation is still very large; expressed their determination to promote measures to soon achieve the two-way trade target of 25 billion USD; create conditions for market access for products of the two countries, especially pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, fishery products and animal husbandry.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed that the two sides establish an economic corridor and supply chain to increase connectivity between the two economies; consider launching bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and actively coordinate with ASEAN countries to promote the early completion of the review of the ASEAN - India Goods Trade Agreement (AITIGA); welcome large Indian corporations to invest in Vietnam in the fields of technology, infrastructure, energy, and pharmaceuticals.
The two Prime Ministers also emphasized the role of connectivity in both road, rail, air and sea; agreed to study promoting railway connectivity projects, forming a South Asia - Southeast Asia connectivity corridor, as well as connecting seaports between the two countries associated with the Asia - Europe maritime route.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung requested India to continue to increase the frequency of direct flights connecting major cities between the two countries.
The two Prime Ministers assessed defense and security cooperation as an important pillar of bilateral relations; agreed to promote cooperation in defense industry and military trade, training and preferential credit provision; soon organize the first meeting of the Diplomatic - Defense Dialogue mechanism.
In the field of science and technology, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed that the two sides soon form a strategy to connect Vietnam - India technology, focusing on key industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G/6G mobile network technology... building cooperation programs on AI engineer training, semiconductor training, digital technology training for the young generation, as well as connecting startups and innovative businesses of the two countries.
The two Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen coordination and mutual support at regional and international forums. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung emphasized that Vietnam supports India playing a greater role in multilateral institutions, is ready to support India in strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and hopes that India will continue to strongly support ASEAN's position on the East Sea.
