Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 20 leaves Hanoi for New Delhi to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit marking the 20th anniversary of the two sides’ dialogue relations.
Themed “ASEAN-India Partnership for Common Peace and Prosperity”, the summit, taking place from December 20-21, will focus on future orientations of the ASEAN-India dialogue and adopt a vision statement to upgrade their dialogue to a strategic partnership.
With the spirit of “activeness, proactiveness and responsibility”, the Vietnamese delegation aims to develop the ASEAN-India dialogue in a practical and effective manner, focusing on cooperation in economics, trade, investment and science-technology, strengthening connectivity, assisting ASEAN in its community building, and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation.
The delegation confirms the importance of the ASEAN-India relations for peace, stability and development in the region, which will enhance Vietnam’s role and position as well as contribute to fostering the country’s bilateral strategic partnership and cooperation with India.
The ASEAN-India dialogue was established in 1992. It was upgraded to full dialogue relations in December, 1995. The first ASEAN-India Summit was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2002.
ASEAN and India have set up dialogue and cooperation mechanisms that include a summit, post ministerial meeting plus one (PMC+1), consultation between the ASEAN Economic Ministers and the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, senior officials’ meeting (SOM), senior economic officials’ meeting (SEOM) and the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), which are held annually.
India has actively participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) since July, 1996.
The 8th ASEAN-India Summit adopted the Plan of Action for the 2010-2015 period.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of dialogue, the two sides jointly held a wide range of commemorative activities, including the ASEAN-India Business Fair, media and youth delegation exchanges, ASEAN-India art and cultural programmes, and the ASEAN-India car rally.
ASEAN and India have signed several framework agreements on comprehensive economic cooperation as foundations for the establishment of an ASEAN-India Trade and Investment Area.
Two-way trade between ASEAN and India reached 75 billion USD in 2011.
In recent years, Vietnam and India have seen close and effective cooperation in the ASEAN cooperation framework and related mechanisms. India has helped Vietnam implement two key projects, including the Vietnam-India Entrepreneur Development Centre (VIEDC) in Hanoi and the Vietnam-India Centre for English Language Training (VICELT) in Da Nang.
Source: VNA