Interview of the Prime Minister of Vietnam
Mr. Phan Van Khai
by Amit Baruah
The Hindu - 9 Jan 2001

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How would you describe the current status of Vietnam-India relations?

Mr. Phan Van Khai: Vietnam and India have long entertained traditional, close and
 reliable relations and multi-faceted cooperation. These relations are now continuing to develop well for the benefit of our two peoples and in the interest of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region. Since our two countries gained independence, the late President, Ho Chi Minh, and the late Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, contributed a lot to build and cultivate close ties between the two countries. In recent years, bilateral relations have increasingly developed at various levels and in several fields - political, cultural, scientific, technical, security and defence. High-level visits between the two countries of which the most recent are those paid by the President, Mr. Tran Duc Luong, to India in December 1999 and the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee to Vietnam now have contributed to consolidating and strengthening friendly relationship and multi-faceted cooperation. The two Governments have set up a mechanism aimed at coordinating bilateral cooperation like the Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Cultural and Scientific-Technical Cooperation and the Joint Working Group on IT cooperation and others. All this have helped increase the efficiency of our relations. 

What are the areas in which Vietnam and India can cooperate further?

Currently, the two countries are making efforts to promote economics, trade, finance, credit, education-training, science- technology, agriculture, forestry and fishery. These relations have proven to be highly effective in promoting economic development and developing human resources for Vietnam. In the current regional and international situation, we wish to see the further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. We believe that it is necessary to find effective measures to promote the current level and scope of cooperation and while moving to the areas that Vietnam and India can further cooperate like education and training, information technology, trade and economics, etc. 

In November, Vietnam and India were party to the launch of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation initiative. How do you view this?

The Inaugural Ministerial Meeting on Ganga Mekong Cooperation took place in
Vientiane at the initiative of India and Southeast Asian countries in November last.
Ministers from six countries agreed on the steps to be taken to promote and increase the efficiency of multi-faceted cooperation. This has contributed to enhancing solidarity between the six participating countries and accelerating the implementation of the hunger elimination and poverty reduction programme in Vietnam. The Ganga-Mekong Cooperation will make an active contribution to the implementation of cooperative programmes and projects in the Mekong basin and thereby to the region's sustainable development. Among the areas of cooperation agreed upon recently, tourism, identified as a priority at the meeting, holds much potential for fast implementation. Vietnam's competent agencies and bodies are now actively preparing for the exchange of the most feasible cooperative projects and programmes with other countries concerned. Vietnam will also make efforts to host the 2001 Ministerial Meeting on Ganga-Mekong Cooperation. 

What role do you foresee for India in the Asia-Pacific region?

As a big country in the region, India has an increasingly important role and position in the region and the world. India has been consistently following a foreign policy of independence, peace, and non- alignment both in the past and at present. India has made efforts to strengthen its relations with neighbouring and regional countries, contributed actively to the Non-Aligned Movement, promoted the South-South cooperation and safeguarded the legitimate interests of developing countries at international fora. India has recorded important achievements in the course of reform and economic development and thus enhanced people's living standards. This will surely help enhance India's standing on the international arena, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. 

What are the possibilities of cooperation in the field of information technology between the two countries?

Though new, information technology is a very important area of cooperation and a central component of Vietnam-India relations. At the ninth meeting of the Vietnam-India Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Cultural and Scientific-technical Cooperation, held in New Delhi in 1999, the two Governments agreed to the establishment of the Joint Working Group on Information Technology in order to materialise potential in this area. The Vietnamese FPT Company has already set up its branch in India and entered into joint venture with APTECH to open training centers for Vietnamese IT experts. These companies have operated effectively. The Indian Government has agreed to provide soft credits to Vietnam to assist the latter in establishing training centres and developing computer software. It is our hope that early implementation of these projects in Vietnam will help strong IT development in Vietnam and constitute a new bright spot in our bilateral cooperation picture. 

India is already a dialogue partner of ASEAN. Do you see any greater formal engagement between ASEAN and India in the coming months and years?

The foundation of ASEAN-India cooperation dates back to the 1980s and India became a full dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1995. Ever since, India has made great efforts and active contribution to many fora such as ARF, PMC, etc. Those activities of India, together with the endeavours of other dialogue partners, have enhanced peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region. India's economic and trade relations with ASEAN are also in the increase; with two-way trade reaching US$7 billion in 1999. It is, however, still modest, accounting for less than one per cent of ASEAN's total trade value. In the near future, we need to make greater efforts in promoting our economic cooperation, and try to seek ways and means to expand trade and investment, science and technology, etc. On the basis of the priorities set forth in the Hanoi Plan of Action, we should build a more dynamic and effective ASEAN-India relationship. We support improved relations between India and ASEAN in the future. 

In bilateral trade, Vietnam faces an adverse trade balance. What specific measures can be taken by India to improve the balance of trade?

Recently, two way trade between Vietnam and India has kept increasing, and currently amounts to around US$ 160 to 170 millions a year. However, this has not been commensurating with the vast potentials of each country as well as with our fine political relations. In fact, Vietnam's trade with India is in deficit. There are a variety of reasons for this, yet, the most important one is the similarity in their exports, as well as the lack of understanding of each other's market and business environment. In an effort to improve the balance of trade, at the tenth meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation in Hanoi last November, the two Governments agreed to consider the diversification of Vietnam's exports to India, enable businesses of each country to study the other's market and business environment, streamline unnecessary and cumbersome administrative procedures, etc. We hope that India will come up with a more appropriate tariff regime to encourage Indian businesses import Vietnamese goods, especially crude oil, coal, ceramics, handicrafts, construction materials, etc. Besides efforts by our two Governments, businesses of the two countries should be more active in exploiting on our vast business potentials. 

Vietnam and India have been firm friends during the anti- colonial struggle. What new challenges will define this relationship in coming years?

The world and regional situation have been witnessing fast and profound development. The globalisation process is an inevitable trend which brings about both positive and negative impacts to all countries in the world. In this context, India, Vietnam as well as other developing countries enjoy various opportunities for development, but, at the same time, have to face many challenges in the security, political, economic and cultural areas. In the economic field, the threat of lagging behind presents the biggest challenge to us. We both want a peaceful and stable environment in the region as well as the world which serves as a precondition for us to focus on national development. We, therefore, should work closely with each other in coping with those challenges, further consolidate and develop our fine traditional relationship, fully exploit every potential for cooperation and advance forward. Recently, the two countries have made active contribution to the South-South cooperation, made the voices of developing countries heard more loudly and defended their legitimate interests at international fora. Vietnam and India need to work closer toward building a peaceful and stable regional and international environment without causing detriment to any third party. 

On the occasion of the new year, through TheHindu, allow me to convey my best
wishes to the Indian people; May the traditional relationship of mutual attachment, trust and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and India be ever developed.

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