PM Pham Minh Chinh meets Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha (lower house) Om Birla in Hanoi, April 19, 2022. (Photo: VNA)

During a meeting with visiting Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha (lower house) Om Birla in Hanoi on Tuesday, Mr. Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for Indian businesses to boost investment in pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, processing and manufacturing, information and biotechnology, renewable energy, high-tech agriculture, and innovation in Vietnam.

He noted that despite COVID-19, two-way trade between Vietnam and India recorded a strong growth of 37% year-on-year in 2021, reaching more than 13.2 billion USD.

The two sides should continue to maintain cooperation mechanisms and further promote collabration in defence - security, culture, tourism, education and training, digital transformation, energy transformation, climate change response, and maritime and oil and gas cooperation, Mr. Chinh stressed.

The Indian parliament leader said that he hopes two-way trade will soon reach 15 billion USD. Indian investors have high expectations for investment in Vietnam, he said, adding that India will continue to help Vietnam in improving the quality of human resources, and restoring and preserving cultural heritages.

The two leaders said that disputes in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) should be settled by peaceful measures based on international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They emphasised the importance of full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the building of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) to ensure navigation and aviation freedom, security, and safety in the East Sea.