India-Vietnam virtual summit today, agreements on healthcare, defence, energy expected

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding a virtual summit with his Vietnam counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday to discuss the future development of the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

According to an official statement issued by Prime Minister's Office, "During the Summit, the two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues and provide guidance for the future development of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership."

In addition, a number of agreements and announcements are likely, covering areas such as defence, energy, development partnership, and healthcare. The implementation of India's Defence Line of Credit for high-speed guard boats for Vietnam will be further progressed. New opportunities in renewable energy cooperation will also be explored.

India's development and capacity building assistance to Vietnam through initiatives such as Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives, PhD fellowships, as well as projects in water resource management in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, SDGs, digital connectivity, and heritage conservation are also likely to be discussed, sources said.

They further said the timing of the Virtual Summit in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic will also allow the two leaders to take stock of the regional and global landscape and exchange views on their respective strategies to deal with the pandemic as well as the post-pandemic economic revival.

In this context, the existing economic and trade linkages between the two countries provide a useful platform to explore new and resilient supply chains.

Both countries have maintained high-level exchanges in 2020. In February, the Vice-President of Vietnam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh came to India on an official visit.

Both Prime Ministers had a telephone conversation on April 13 to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic situation.

Both countries enjoy a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and India is one of the very few countries with whom Vietnam has such characterisation for bilateral relations, sources said.