ASEAN countries and India hold a meeting on 'Maritime cooperation and security'

On the night of January 26, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, left New Delhi (India) for Vietnam, successfully concluding their working trip to attend the Summit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India partnership and the 69th anniversary of the Republic Day of India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With the theme “Shared Values, Common Destiny”, the leaders of ASEAN and India assessed the positive results of ASEAN-India cooperation in recent years in various fields and highly appreciated Vietnam – the country coordinating ASEAN-India relations, which has always made efforts and creativity to promote the common cooperation of the two sides; at the same time, discussed directions and measures to promote and deepen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in all aspects through the full and effective implementation of the ASEAN-India Action Plan 2016-2020.

Leaders of ASEAN countries and India held a thematic meeting to discuss “Cooperation and maritime security”. The two sides pledged to continue dialogue and cooperation through regional mechanisms to maintain peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation; uphold the rule of law and resolve disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982)…

On this occasion, ASEAN and Indian leaders affirmed their support for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and looked forward to the early completion of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

All countries highly appreciate Vietnam's coordinating role in ASEAN - India relations.

Speaking at the Conference, as the coordinator of ASEAN-India relations, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc comprehensively reviewed the development process of ASEAN-India relations.

“We have come together naturally through the path of peace and cooperation, along with the profound thoughts and philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism about compassion, gentleness, and tolerance, whose imprints are still deeply engraved in the unique and majestic architecture of temples, pagodas, and shrines in regional countries,” the Prime Minister shared.

Over the past 25 years of cooperation, ASEAN and India have built on long-standing historical connections of friendship to build a solid foundation of trusted political relations, paving the way for the ASEAN-India comprehensive cooperation to achieve many positive results for peace and common prosperity.

To further promote the achievements and make ASEAN-India cooperation a bright spot in the success of the Asia-Pacific century, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed three major focuses. First, consider trade and investment cooperation as the main driving force and top priority of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership. The two sides need to take advantage of scientific and technological achievements of the 4.0 revolution to accelerate development. Second, enhancing connectivity is a key factor, ensuring inter-regional sustainability. The Prime Minister hopes that India will share its experience in developing 100 smart cities and proposed to study the extension of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Expressway project to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in the future. Third, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation for peace and stability in the region and in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific to respond to security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional.

Discussing maritime cooperation and security, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested that the two sides should strengthen coordination, ensure the rule of law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), strengthen cooperation in building trust through joint measures to respond to challenges at sea, prioritize the development of the blue economy, including the early completion of the Maritime Transport Agreement, information sharing and coordination of maritime policies, as well as promote inter-regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

At the end of the Conference, ASEAN and Indian leaders adopted the Delhi Declaration, setting out the vision and direction for comprehensively promoting the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in the coming years.

On the occasion of attending the Conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; met and had bilateral meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, thereby exchanging many measures and orientations to further promote bilateral relations.

At the talks between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides agreed that two-way trade turnover has grown rapidly, reaching nearly 8 billion USD in 2017, but is not commensurate with the potential and strengths of the two countries as well as other aspects of cooperation; bilateral investment remains limited. To achieve the target of two-way trade turnover of 15 billion USD before 2020, the two Prime Ministers proposed that the Trade Subcommittee of the two countries meet early in 2018 to study and find solutions, including promoting research on aviation and maritime connectivity to shorten transportation time, reduce costs and increase the competitiveness of goods of the two countries; limit and gradually remove trade barriers, creating favorable conditions for import and export goods of the two countries.

After the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation agreements including the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India on cooperation in the field of information and broadcasting and the Agreement between the National Remote Sensing Department and the Indian Space Research Organization on the implementation of the Project "Construction of a Satellite Image Detection and Reception Station and a Satellite Image Data Processing Center".

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined leaders of ASEAN countries in attending the parade to celebrate India’s Republic Day as the chief guest of the President of India. Compared to previous years’ parades where the chief guest was usually only the leader of one country, the presence of leaders of 10 ASEAN countries at this year’s parade is special and unprecedented, demonstrating India’s special regard for ASEAN.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the stamp release ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral partnership and visited the exhibition of 20 paintings by artists participating in the ASEAN-India Creative Camp.

The Prime Minister received representatives of large Indian enterprises operating in Vietnam, such as the TATA Group with steel and power projects, the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Group with projects on building patrol ships and supplying industrial components, the Indian Oil and Gas Corporation (ONGC) which is effectively exploring and exploiting oil and gas in Vietnam's sovereign waters, the Suzlon Group investing in wind power, the Adani Green Energy Group investing in solar power, and the vDoIT Group planning to implement the Smart Village project in several localities in Vietnam. During the discussion, the Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always creates favorable conditions for foreign enterprises, including those from India; and requested that Indian enterprises pay attention to investing in areas where India is strong and Vietnam has demand.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister visited the Embassy, ​​met with officials and staff of the Embassy and overseas Vietnamese living and working in India; attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Vietnamese Embassy headquarters; and visited the National Museum in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s working trip to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 69th Republic Day of India has contributed to promoting and strengthening the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher and deeper level; demonstrating Vietnam’s active coordinating role in ASEAN-India relations./.