Vietnam - India Joint Statement

Nghe An Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of the Vietnam - India Joint Statement on the occasion of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's State visit to India from November 19-22:

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister of the Republic of India Manmohan Singh meet the press after concluding their talks. Photo: Tri Dung – VNA

1. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong paid a State visit to India from November 19 to 22, 2013.

2. The General Secretary met with President of India Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari and Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar. Prime Minister Mamonhan Singh held talks and solemnly hosted the General Secretary. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and leaders of several political parties in India met the General Secretary. The official welcome ceremony for the General Secretary took place at the Presidential Palace, and the General Secretary laid a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Rajghat.

3. The General Secretary visited Mumbai city, met with the Governor of Maharashtra state and met with the Indian business community.

4. The two leaders stressed that Vietnam and India have common goals of comprehensive socio-economic growth and development and affirmed that they share a common vision to meet the aspirations of their peoples. They also acknowledged that the two countries are facing similar challenges due to the global economic downturn, threats of terrorism and other international issues. The Prime Minister reiterated that Vietnam is a pillar of India's Look East policy; this was also agreed by the General Secretary. The two leaders looked forward to India playing a more active role in the region and the international arena.

5. The two leaders recalled the great contributions of the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ho Chi Minh to the development of the Vietnam-India friendship, which has been preserved and nurtured by generations of leaders of the two countries; expressed satisfaction with the regular consultations at all levels, which have helped to consolidate and expand the bilateral relationship.

6. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the success of the “Vietnam-India Friendship Year 2012” which also marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Many events were held in the two countries to raise awareness among the people of the two countries about the connection between the civilizations of Vietnam and India and the scope of cooperation between the two countries in the contemporary world.

7. The two leaders stressed that the Vietnam-India friendship has stood the test of time, with common interests, mutual trust and multifaceted cooperation. In terms of strategic interests, the two sides agreed to strengthen and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. This will contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the wider region.

Strategic commitment

8. The recent high-level visits by the President of India in 2008, Vice President in 2013, Prime Minister in 2010 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2011; President of Vietnam in 2011, Vice President in 2009, Chairman of the National Assembly in 2010 and Prime Minister in 2012 have reflected the importance attached to strengthening the bilateral relationship. The two leaders decided to enhance high-level political exchanges by promoting bilateral visits and meetings on the sidelines of regional and multilateral events.

9. The two leaders welcomed the outcomes and the Action Plan adopted at the 15th Joint Commission Meeting in New Delhi on 11 July 2013 and appreciated the important contributions of existing bilateral mechanisms to strengthening and expanding the current bilateral relationship.

10. The two leaders welcomed the decision to conduct annual exchanges of delegations under the “Dear Guest Programme” between the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Central Commission for External Relations of the Communist Party of Vietnam to enhance understanding, share experiences and learn from each other in the areas of governance, public policy, development challenges and economic growth.

11. The two leaders agreed that defence cooperation has become an important pillar of the strategic partnership between the two countries. They welcomed the regular defence dialogue, training, exercises, visits by naval and coast guard vessels, capacity building, exchange of advisers and exchanges between relevant agencies of the two countries in recent years. The utilisation of the Line of Credit in the defence sector has helped to strengthen defence cooperation. The two leaders suggested that the two sides continue to discuss the terms of the US$100 million Line of Credit in the defence sector to provide further impetus to this existing cooperation. They welcomed the signing of the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information Exchange and the Memorandum of Understanding currently being implemented on training of officers of the Vietnamese navy and air force.

12. The two leaders affirmed their desire and determination to cooperate to maintain peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia; agreed that freedom of navigation in the South China Sea should not be impeded and called on the parties concerned to exercise self-restraint, not to use force or threat to use force and to resolve disputes through peaceful means in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The two leaders also welcomed the joint commitments of the parties concerned to comply with and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and to soon adopt a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) on the basis of consensus. The two leaders called for cooperation in ensuring the security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations.

13. The two leaders stressed that cooperation between the two sides has been enhanced in the field of security and law enforcement. The two leaders welcomed the signing of the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons; welcomed the entry into force of the Extradition Agreement between the two countries; and directed the relevant agencies of the two countries to focus on sharing information and experience in combating organized crime, illicit arms trafficking and drug trafficking. The two leaders welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Indira Ghandi Electronic Data Recovery Laboratory in Hanoi and urged both sides to expedite the project for its early commissioning. The Indian side agreed to continue to support Vietnam in training, capacity building and modernization of the Vietnamese Police Force.

14. The two leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and resolved to enhance cooperation to comprehensively combat this menace. They also agreed to work closely for the early finalization of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which India has submitted to the United Nations.

15. The two leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation to effectively deal with non-traditional security threats such as climate change, environmental pollution, energy security, HIV/AIDS and epidemics.

16. The two leaders decided to expand bilateral cooperation in areas such as space technology, natural resource management and utilization, disaster prevention and response, weather forecasting, marine science and technology, hydrology, meteorology, nanotechnology and civil nuclear cooperation. The two leaders agreed to request relevant agencies of both countries to continue to cooperate closely to soon complete the project of establishing a Satellite Data Tracking and Reception Center in Ho Chi Minh City under the ASEAN-India Cooperation Framework and agreed that the two sides would continue to explore new areas of cooperation to promote bilateral relations such as Vietnam launching satellites using Indian rockets and supporting the establishment of an Earth Observation Center in Vietnam.

Economic Partnership

17. The two leaders agreed to elevate the economic partnership to one of the main contents of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The two leaders welcomed the results of the first meeting of the Sub-Committee on Trade Cooperation held on 18 November 2013 in New Delhi and expressed satisfaction with the steady growth of bilateral trade towards the target of US$7 billion by 2015. The two sides agreed to create favorable conditions to increase bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2020 and promote investment between the two countries, especially in the fields of education, infrastructure, oil and gas, energy, new and renewable energy, agriculture, textiles, information technology and pharmaceuticals. The two leaders also agreed to cooperate in the early implementation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement in services and investment to further develop based on the momentum from the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement in goods. The two sides also agreed to cooperate to soon implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to support India's integration into the ASEAN Economic Community.

18. The Vietnamese side welcomed new investment projects by Indian companies in upstream and downstream oil and gas projects in Vietnam. The two leaders expressed satisfaction that the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group has given priority to introducing new oil and gas exploration and exploitation areas to India.

19. The two sides welcome and commit to facilitating the opening of representative offices of commercial banks of one country in the other, in accordance with the regulations of the host country, in accordance with the principles of multilateral international trade and bilateral commitments.

20. The two leaders encouraged cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries and affirmed their support for the Vietnam-India Business Forum and the activities of the chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries. The Vietnamese side also agreed to actively support the “Vietnam-India Business Council”.

21. The two leaders welcomed and supported the proposal of Tata Group as the contractor for the 1,200 MW Long Phu 2 Thermal Power Project, which is the largest Indian investment in Vietnam and will be a pioneer project to stimulate greater investment flows from India.

22. The two leaders decided to enhance connectivity between Vietnam and India in land, sea and air transport. They welcomed the signing of the Air Transport Agreement to promote cooperation in civil aviation; welcomed the signing of the Maritime Transport Agreement and proposed to initiate formal negotiations on a sub-regional transport agreement between India and the CLMV countries. The two leaders appreciated the importance of expanding road connectivity between Vietnam and India and welcomed India’s proposal to discuss soft infrastructure requirements to facilitate the flow of goods and services through economic corridors and initiate negotiations on the ASEAN-India Transit Transport Agreement (AITTA), expected to be concluded by the end of 2015.

23. The two leaders appreciated the important contribution of development partnership and capacity building projects such as the establishment of an Information Technology and English Language Training Centre at the Vietnam National Defence Academy in Hanoi, a Vocational Training Centre in Ho Chi Minh City and the commissioning of a “High Performance Computing Centre” at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology. They also agreed to expedite new projects under the Indian Line of Credit. The Vietnamese side also welcomed the establishment of a Small Scale Quick Impact Projects Fund under which India would support practical projects that would serve the timely interests of local people in areas such as education, health, sanitation and community development.

24. The two leaders acknowledged the strong cooperation between the two countries in agriculture and allied sectors and agreed to further deepen research and development cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, livestock and dairying. They called for the early convening of a Vietnam-India Conference on Agriculture between the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and highlighted the immense potential for further cooperation between the two sides. The two leaders welcomed the cooperation of Vietnam in setting up a Pangasius farm in India; agreed to promote research and information exchange on Early Mortality Syndrome in the shrimp farming industry.

25. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the signing of the Programme of Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology for the period 2013-2014. They also welcomed the Programme of Cooperation between the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and the Department of Biotechnology of India.

Culture and people exchange

26. The two leaders agreed to enhance friendly exchanges, people-to-people contacts and cooperation in the fields of culture, archaeology, conservation, museum science, tourism, public health, sports, education and media; welcomed the establishment of sister city relationship between Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese side welcomed the decision to open the Indian Cultural Centre in Hanoi to promote exchanges between artists and art troupes of the two countries, organize film festivals, exchange between youths and other cultural activities.

27. The two leaders agreed to propose the two countries to soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Conservation and Restoration of Cham Towers funded by the Archaeological Survey of India at My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam.

28. The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the second meeting of the Joint Working Group on Education Exchange on cooperation between universities and research institutes, especially the proposal to introduce the curriculum of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) of India in Vietnamese schools.

Cooperation in regional and international forums

29. The two leaders appreciated the growing role of the two countries in regional issues and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in regional and international forums, especially in ASEAN, the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+), the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. The two leaders stressed that the cooperation between the two countries is in line with the aspirations and will of both sides to work together towards peace, prosperity and stability in the region and the world.

30. India expressed its appreciation for Viet Nam's continued support for India's candidature for permanent membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council. The Indian side affirmed its support for Viet Nam's candidature for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2020-2021 and the Vietnamese side expressed its reciprocal support for India's candidature for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the next term. Viet Nam also expressed its support for India's membership of the Human Rights Council for the term 2015-2017. The Vietnamese side appreciated India's support for Viet Nam's application for membership in the International Hydrographic Organization. The Indian side appreciated Viet Nam's support for India's re-election to Group II of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

31. The two leaders welcomed the signing of a number of bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding during the visit and requested the relevant agencies to initiate steps for their early full implementation. The documents signed during the visit included: Air Transport Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Indira Gandhi Electronic Data Recovery Laboratory in Hanoi, Agreement on Mutual Protection of Exchange of Confidential Information, Memorandum of Understanding between the two Ministries of Finance, Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the Indian Council of Industrial Research and Development, Memorandum of Understanding between the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Public Administration and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Memorandum of Understanding on Oil and Gas Cooperation between PetroVietnam and OVL India, Memorandum of Understanding on the Long Phu II Thermal Power Project between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Tata Group.

32. The two leaders had talks in a warm, friendly and cordial atmosphere. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sincerely thanked the Government and people of India for the hospitality and warm welcome extended to the General Secretary and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation during their State visit to the Republic of India. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Vietnam at a mutually convenient time. The Prime Minister happily accepted the invitation and the time of the visit will be arranged through diplomatic channels./.

According to VNA