Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh departs for a visit to India.

On the evening of July 30th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led a high-level Vietnamese delegation departing from Hanoi for India. This was the Prime Minister's first state visit to India as head of government, at the invitation of his counterpart Narendra Modi.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai said this was the first visit of a Vietnamese Prime Minister to India in 10 years and the first visit at the Prime Minister level between the two countries after Vietnam and India upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

According to Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh 's visit to India is of great significance to both countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh departs for a visit to India (Photo: Doan Bac).

First and foremost, the visit demonstrates the importance that the leaders of our Party and State attach to relations with India – a traditional friendly country and a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of Vietnam, a nation that is rapidly rising in the region and the world.

With regard to India, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was one of the first foreign leaders to visit after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was re-elected for a third term, demonstrating the importance that India places on bilateral relations.

According to the Ambassador, the visit will also create new momentum to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which was established in 2016.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Thanh Binh noted that the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is developing positively with a solid foundation of relations and high political trust.

Relations through Party, State, National Assembly, and people channels have been expanded, with regular visits and contacts maintained at all levels and through all channels. Cooperation mechanisms, dialogues, and specialized cooperation subcommittees are maintained and effectively utilized.

Economically, bilateral trade has increased 2.5 times since the two countries upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (in 2016), reaching nearly $15 billion in 2023.

"The two countries have great potential for trade and investment cooperation, with many strengths such as the world's most populous market and a dynamically developing economy," Mr. Binh remarked.

He stated that major Indian corporations are actively promoting cooperation with Vietnam in strategic areas such as renewable energy, processing industries, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, port infrastructure, and logistics.

On the Vietnamese side, Vinfast Group has commenced construction of an automobile assembly and manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu state, with a committed investment of $2 billion.

Cooperation in the fields of science and technology, information and communication, education and training, culture and tourism has developed positively. Currently, there are more than 50 direct flights between the two countries each week.

"India is among the top 3 countries with the highest growth rate of tourists visiting Vietnam. The number of Indian tourists to Vietnam has increased 2.5 times in the past 4 years (from 170,000 in 2019 to 400,000 in 2023)," the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs informed.

According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the two countries are promoting and strengthening cooperation in new, promising areas such as renewable energy, semiconductor chips, innovation, green economy, digital transformation and information technology, smart agriculture, and pharmaceuticals…

Accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on his state visit to India were Minister and Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son; Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat; Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan; Director General of Voice of Vietnam Do Tien Sy; Deputy Minister of National Defence Hoang Xuan Chien; Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham The Tung; and Deputy Head of the Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Department Ngo Le Van.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-len-duong-tham-an-do-20240730182700388.htm