Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Mr. Pranay Verma sent a message to celebrate the 74th anniversary of India's Independence Day taking place on August 15.
It was on this day in 1947 that the people of India gained their independence from the colonial rule and entered the journey of development, progress and global integration.
In the 73 years since then, India as a country has gone on a remarkable journey. We are now among the five largest economies in the world. The transition to a 'New India' envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not limited to economic growth. It emphasizes equality on good governance, empowerment of the population - through the use of technology and participation, and a model of inclusive and sustainable development. The scale of this transformation will create capacity and create a need to bring great opportunities to our partners, including Vietnam.
The year 2020 reappeared the landscape of human interaction by bringing an unprecedented crisis to humanity in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this difficult time, India has been working closely with the global community to help prevent and control the pandemic. As the 'pharmacy of the world', India's priority is to provide all possible pharmaceutical products to support effective pandemic management efforts. India is also at the forefront of global efforts to develop a vaccine for the benefit of all humanity.
In shaping the global response to COVID-19, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the concept of 'people-centered globalization' in search of economic recovery based on care and compassion. He also envisioned a 'self-reliant India - Aatma Nirbhar Bhaarat as it is called in Hindi - self-sustaining and resilient, not by isolating India, but by building energy at home. so that India can better integrate with the global value chain. We believe that with its size, capabilities and ambitions, India must become a major player in the post-pandemic global resurgence. And the steps that India is taking are not incremental; they are variable.
For Vietnam, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership today expands our scope of cooperation - from political activities to economic and development partnerships, defense and security cooperation, and cooperation. energy cooperation, cultural exchange and people exchange. Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, our multifaceted involvement with Vietnam has moved forward, even at the highest levels. The long tradition of exchanging high-level visits continues with State Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh's visit to India in February this year. In April, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made a phone call not only to exchange views on COVID-19, but also to outline the undertakings for our bilateral relationship by 2020.
Our businesses are rejoining after the initial disruptions caused by the pandemic, with industrial departments on both sides linked together through online platforms. Last year, India was ranked as the seventh largest trading partner of Vietnam with bilateral trade turnover of about 12 billion USD. This is not yet commensurate with our level of economic development and the fact that we are both among the fastest growing economies in the world today. New opportunities are emerging as COVID-19 that have prompted us to rethink old ways of interacting with each other. Today, we are exploring new supply chains and new partnerships with each other.
Our development partnership with Vietnam is also well underway. In addition to capacity-building exchanges to manage COVID-19, our partnership has entered new areas including science and technology, aerospace applications, information and communication technologies, and physical and digital connectivity, civil nuclear energy, water resources development, and so on Our fast-acting projects in many provinces in Vietnam are delivering quick and specific socio-economic benefits to the people.
As a special focus of our development partnership, Indian archeologists have continued their heritage conservation project in My Son, Quang Nam province. During conservation over the past few months, they have found a number of wonderful symbols of our civilized interaction, including a ninth century monolithic Shiva emblem.
The growing popularity of yoga in Vietnam, shown by celebrations in several provinces on International Yoga Day, continues to highlight our cultural and people-to-people relationships.
Our defense partnerships have evolved in many respects, including military exchanges, training, joint exercises, peacekeeping and ship visits. Defense industry cooperation is a new focus of our commitment, with defense credit lines worth US $ 600 million to enhance Vietnam's domestic defense production.
In the broader regional and global context, we view Vietnam as a key pillar of India's Look East Policy and an important partner in the Indo-Pacific Vision, based on our shared values and interests in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in our region. We are delighted that ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, have come up with their own perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, which is in line with the Indo-Pacific Vision. Together, they come up with a useful roadmap for fostering regional integration through networking and partnerships. With Vietnam successfully directing the ASEAN chairmanship despite the COVID-19 disruption, India's commitment to Vietnam and ASEAN has been strengthened.
Both India and Vietnam are contributing to regional and global peace and development through the United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as through actions committed to achieving the Sections. spend sustainable development and address climate change. India will join Vietnam as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on January 1, 2021. With a peaceful and inclusive voice, respect for international law and commitment to master reform In a multilateral sense, the simultaneous presence of India and Vietnam in the Security Council creates a new basis for their closer cooperation on global issues.
As India celebrates its Independence Day today, we tell ourselves we will work with Vietnam - one of our closest friends and most trusted partners - to bring the Global Strategic Partnership. to new heights in line with our national development priorities.
Source: Indian Embassy in Vietnam