AMN / HANOI
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has said that Vietnam is one of India’s closest partner and important pillar of its Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. He also said, India and Vietnam should further strengthen their strategic partnership.
During his interaction with the Secretary General of Vietnam Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong, Mr Birla mentioned that India and Vietnam can further expand their cooperation in areas like climate change and sustainable development, health care and digital economy.
On the second day of its visit to Vietnam today, the Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called on Mr Trong. Underlining the two countries’ shared vision in the defence sector, Mr Birla noted that the Indo-Vietnam defence partnership is growing rapidly in areas like defence industry, maritime security, capacity building programs and UN peacekeeping. He added that these defence ties are a major contributor to the peace, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking about trade and economic ties, Mr Birla expressed his happiness to note that India and Vietnam strive to build reliable and strong supply chains. The delegation also met Chairman of National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue. Both the leaders, not only restored the suspended direct air services between the two countries after the COVID-19 pandemic, but also inaugurated air services on new routes. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Vietnamese airlines VietJet was operating regular flights from Hanoi and Ho Chin Minh City to New Delhi. Apart from this, Charter flights were also being operated to the major Buddhist spiritual centre, Bodh Gaya. However, these services were suspended after the pandemic struck.
These flights have now been resumed during this visit. The two existing services between Ho Chi Minh City and New Delhi will resume on 29th of while those between Hanoi and New Delhi will begin on 30th of April. Additionally, four new routes will connect Hanoi-Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City-Mumbai and the southern resort island of Phu Quoc with New Delhi and Mumbai. Mr Birla said that the increased connectivity between Vietnam and India will generate business and tourism opportunities and in turn boost the economies of both the countries.