Opinion - Leader Page Articles   

Vietnam and India: scaling new heights

Vu Quang Diem

The traditional friendship and excellent political relations provide a sound base for the development of deeper economic linkages.

ON JANUARY 7, 1972, Vietnam and India officially upgraded diplomatic ties to the ambassadorial level. This was a significant landmark, opening up a new stage in the development of the multifaceted relationship between the states and peoples of our two countries.

The last 35 years saw the strongest surge and most fruitful development of bilateral relations. Yet the links between Vietnam and India date back to time immemorial, when the first trade and cultural interactions began. The elaborate and unique culture and religions of India left their mark on Vietnamese soil. Through all the ups and downs of time and history they remain fresh, providing a sound foundation for the present friendship and cooperation between the new Vietnam and India.

President Ho Chi Minh once said: "The people of our two countries have got an age-old fraternity. The culture and Buddhism of India travelled to Vietnam since the ancient time"; and this is the only culture that came to Vietnam in a peaceful way. Following the independence for Vietnam in 1945 and India in 1947, friendship and formal cooperation between our two countries gradually came into being. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Vietnam in 1954, right after the restoration of peace in North Vietnam, and President Ho Chi Minh visited India in 1958. The upgrading of diplomatic ties to ambassadorial level on January 7, 1972, was part of the logical progression of our nations' and peoples' sound and time-tested relationship.

The significance and value of this event be fully understood only when it is set against the conditions prevailing then. At the time, the Vietnamese people were striving to overcome the hardships and difficulties in the final stage of the struggle for national liberation and reunification. The upgrading of diplomatic ties was indeed a great encouragement to the Vietnamese people; precious moral support extended by the Indian people and government to their just cause. It was also a vivid example of a great asset of our bilateral ties: our two nations have always stood shoulder to shoulder, sharing all the woes in the hardest of times.

Vietnam and India are not just countries having friendly relations and mutual cooperation, but also loyal friends and brothers sharing a common goal of national liberation, peace, and development. We once sang together: "Mera Nam, Tera Nam, Vietnam, Vietnam." Today, we are reliable partners in the process of building together a new framework for cooperation in the 21st century. The last 35 years have served as a foundation and also a starting point for us to embark on a new march towards a common bright future.

The Vietnamese people forever treasure the precious fraternity the people of India reserved for us in our past struggle for national independence and freedom as well as in our present national construction and development. We will never forget the wholehearted and timely assistance extended by the Indian people during our most critical times. The Indian assistance in credit, education, training, science and technology, and many other fields contributes practically to the cause of `renewal' (Doi Moi) of Vietnam and our striving for modernisation, industrialisation, and active international integration.

The Communist Party of Vietnam, the state, and the people of Vietnam always attach great importance to the development and unceasing expansion of the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with India. This is a responsibility the present generation assumes: to respect and treasure traditional and age-old ties, as well as towards future generations. The Vietnam-India relationship has become an important factor for sustainable development of each country as well as for peace, stability, friendship, cooperation, development, and integration in the region and the world.

Vietnam highly appreciates India's international role and status. Vietnam fully supports India's efforts to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Vietnam welcomes India's "Look East" policy and supports its bid to participate fully in the various cooperation forums in the Asia-Pacific, especially Asean and Mekong-Ganga cooperation. We support India's policy and efforts to improve relations with neighbouring countries, settling disputes through peaceful negotiations in order to make South Asia a region of peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

We are proud of the important achievements by India in its development path, especially since 1991 when the on-going comprehensive reform started. These great achievements have remarkably improved the economic, scientific, technological, national defence strength, and international status of India.

Looking back over 35 years, we are very proud of the fine developments in India-Vietnam relations. They are not just a worthy continuation of the traditional relationship between the two countries but also provide an impetus for achieving more significant and practical goals. The concrete figures in our bilateral relationship since the upgrading of diplomatic ties to ambassadorial level are quite impressive and a source of pride. However, it should be frankly recognised that because of many objective and subjective reasons on both sides, economic, trade, science and technology, and education cooperation is still modest, not commensurate with the excellent political ties and the great potential and strengths of the two countries. Bilateral trade is still small, accounting for just 0.2-0.3 per cent of India's total import-export volume and 0.3 per cent of Vietnam's import-export volume. The trade balance is much in favour of India. Vietnam's export to India accounts for only about 1 per cent of Asean's export to India. Indian FDI in Vietnam is small with very limited presence of large business groups in such sectors as power, information technology, and manufacturing of agro-machinery. Science and technology cooperation in many fields such as agro-biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and new materials is far from meeting the two countries' requirements, capabilities, and potential. Tourism cooperation is also limited with only about 13,300 Indian tourists visiting Vietnam in 2005, a very small number as compared with nearly six million Indians travelling abroad and more than one million visiting Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

It is time for us to comprehensively increase economic ties, identify new goals, orientations, and solutions to further enhance bilateral relations. The traditional friendship and excellent political relations provide a sound base for the development of economic linkages, which, in turn, can serve as firm and long-term foundations for further strengthening political ties. To that end, comprehensive and synchronous efforts are needed to soon build a strategic partnership between Vietnam and India.

The world and the region require us to be aware of, and more attentive to, the fast, complex, and profound changes that are taking place. Each nation should actively find its own relevant solution. At the same time, international cooperation should also be strengthened. The international situation and the requirements for the Vietnam-India relationship should bring us to a closer cooperation for the sustainable development of each country as well as for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

These days, both countries are organising many elaborate activities to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the upgrading of diplomatic ties to the ambassadorial level. Our relationship has now entered a new phase. We are grateful to the many generations of Indians and Vietnamese who have contributed to the nurturing of our relationship with all their hearts and minds. We put our hopes and expectations on the present and the future generations, to further the fine tradition. Let us do our best to keep the Vietnamese-Indian friendship evergreen as expected by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Nehru, as well as other leaders and the people of our countries.

(The writer is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to India.)

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A violation of the mind
In need of constant monitoring
Vietnam and India: scaling new heights
Polish airport at heart of CIA flights row
Corrections and Clarifications
Iraq now worse than under Saddam
Predicting the future
Appalling apathy
Army versus police
Saddam's execution

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu