Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung at the opening session of the 2021 Indo-Pacific Business Summit (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the meeting, the deputy foreign minister said that it is an urgent need to pursue and build an Indo-Pacific region of peace, cooperation, freedom, openness and inclusion.  He asked regional countries to boost cooperation, share and ensure COVID-19 vaccine supply, maintain the supply chain and restructure the economy along an innovative and modern direction. The nations also need to push ahead with digital connection and e-commerce, expand entry into each other’s market, and bolster maritime connectivity and trade facilitation.

Speaking highly of the role and position of India in the order of the region and the world, along with the country’s contributions to enhancing economic connectivity, deputy foreign minister Dung expected that India will serve as one of the locomotives which help developing economies repel the pandemic and recover.

He underlined the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership, calling on both countries to foster cooperation in information-technology, digital economy and supply chain diversification, and seek deeper participation in the global supply chain.