Published 17:58 IST, December 20th 2020
PM Modi to hold virtual Summit with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Dec 21
The scheduled meet on Monday will also mark the first such virtual summit of PM Modi with an ASEAN country
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual summit with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 21. According to the official press release, 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. Additionally, a number of agreements/announcements are likely to be made, covering areas such as defence, energy, development partnership and healthcare.
The scheduled meet on Monday will also mark the first such virtual summit of PM Modi with an ASEAN country. In the summit, the two leaders will talk about the implementation of India’s Defence Line of Credit for high-speed guard boats for Vietnam. Further, new opportunities in renewable energy cooperation will also be explored.
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According to ANI, 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. Moreover, amid the pandemic, the two leaders will also take stock of the regional and global landscape and exchange views on their respective strategies to deal with the deadly virus, along with post-pandemic economic revival.
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India-Vietnam relations
The virtual summit caps a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries. This year, Vice President of Vietnam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh also came to India in February on an official visit. Both the prime ministers even had a telephone conversation back in April in a bid to discuss the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, last month the two leaders also met virtually during the 17th ASEAN-India Summit.
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In 2016, after a decade of being strategic partners, India and Vietnam formally upgraded their relationship status to “comprehensive strategic partnership”. Now, the partnership between the two countries has diversified across wide-ranging areas, including political engagement, economic and development partnership, defence and security, energy partnership, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts. Monday’s Summit will reinforce the friendly sentiments and chart a new course for the future development of the important partnership between the two.
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17:58 IST, December 20th 2020