India is an emerging economy which has rich natural resources, economic growth potential, and advanced technology. A Act East policy has been pursued since India’s began economic reform and trade liberalization in the early 1990s. Vietnam is considered a pillar of that policy.

Traditional friendship

The Vietnam-India friendship has been nurtured and developed by both leaders and citizens. In the 1950s, President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru affirmed the two countries’ loyal and friendly relationship. Prime Minister Nehru was one of the first foreign leaders to visit Vietnam after Vietnam’s victory over the French colonialists in 1954. President Ho Chi Minh visited India in 1958 and the following year the Indian President visited Vietnam.

Vietnam and India established diplomatic ties on January 7, 1972, to begin a new chapter in bilateral cooperation for mutual prosperity and development. In July, 2007, the two countries established a strategic partnership.

Bilateral relations have been deepened through high-level visits. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited India in 2014 and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam in September, 2016.

Practical results

Economic and trade cooperation have seen positive results. India is one of Vietnam’s 10 biggest trade partners, while Vietnam is given top priority in India’s Act East policy. Bilateral trade has increased over the years from 5.23 billion USD in 2013 to 5.6 billion USD in 2014 and 3.9 billion USD in 9 months of 2016. Both countries hope to increase bilateral trade to 15 billion by 2020. India ranks 28^th among the 116 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 118 operational projects with 590 million USD.

India has helped Vietnam train high-quality human resources in information technology, economics, law, and English.

Legislative cooperation has been expanded, contributing further to the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership. The two parliaments have exchanged high-level delegations to share information on policies and laws and discuss issues of mutual concerning on politics, security and defense, and science and technology.

At global and regional inter-parliamentary forums, both countries’ legislative delegations have supported their shared stance on international issues, particularly the East Sea issue. India backed Vietnam’s hosting of the 132^nd Inter-parliamentary Union Assembly in 2015.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s visit to India will strengthen bilateral ties in the context of celebrations for the 45^th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the 10^th anniversary of their strategic partnership next year.