New Delhi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang has hailed the political relations betweenVietnam and India as it has grown through regular mutual visits made at variouschannels and levels.

He granted aninterview to "The Times of India" newspaper on his upcoming visit to the Republicof India from March 2-4.

The following is thefull text of the interview which was published on February 28:

“Q: India andVietnam have just completed the Year of Friendship to celebrate 45 years ofestablishment of diplomatic ties, ten years of the Strategic Partnership andone year of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. What is your evaluation ofIndia - Vietnam relations?

President Tran Dai Quang: Vietnam and India have enjoyed a long-standingtraditional friendship with various historical and cultural similarities, whichwas established by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehruand nurtured by successive generations of leaders and people of both countries.The two nations have empathized and supported each other in their struggle fornational independence in the past as well as in the national construction anddevelopment today.

With trust and many shared interests, the two countries established theStrategic Partnership in July 2007 and upgraded it to Comprehensive StrategicPartnership in September 2016. This fine relationship has been concretized invarious fields, especially the pillars of politics, national defense, security,economy, trade, investment, culture, science and technology, education andtraining and people-to-people exchange.

The bilateral political relations have gone from strength to strength thanks toregular mutual visits at the high and lower levels through party-to-party,state-to-state, government-to-government, parliament-to-parliament as well aspeople-to-people exchanges. The General Secretary, President, Prime Ministerand President of the National Assembly of Viet Nam have all visited India. Vietnamalso hosted the visits of the President, Vice President, Prime Minister,Speaker of the Lok Sabha and National Security Advisor of India. Practicalcommemorative activities have been hosted by both countries to celebrate the45th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the StrategicPartnership.

[Economy should shape Vietnam-India relations]

Bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Action Plan 2017-2020, havebeen effectively implemented, thus facilitating the enhancement of thebilateral cooperation in various areas.

Defense and security have been the effective strategic areas of cooperation. Indiahas actively supported Vietnam in training, capacity building, defensetechnology transfer, and defense credit.

India continued to be among Vietnam's top ten largest trading partners as thebilateral trade turnover has increased 16 percent per annum on average in thepast decade. A large number of major Indian firms have established and expandedtheir footprints in Vietnam.

India has given priority to Vietnam in development cooperation and educationand training, and paid attention to promoting the bilateral cooperation inscience and technology, information and communication, energy, oil and gas,agriculture and tourism.

The cultural bonds and people-to-people exchanges between the two countrieshave also deepened. A large population of Vietnamese are watching Indian dramasand practicing yoga.

Apart from the bilateral frameworks, both countries have also forged closecollaboration and effective mutual support at multilateral fora, especially atthe United Nations. Vietnam welcomes India's efforts in and strong commitmentsto its "Act East" policy as well as to enhancing the connectivity anddevelopment cooperation with ASEAN. As the coordinator of ASEAN-India relationsfor 2015-2018, Vietnam has worked closely with India to drive the India-ASEANcooperation further forward.

Q: What's your assessment of India's Act East Policy and how significant is itfor you and ASEAN as a whole?

President Tran Dai Quang: Vietnam has on many occasions affirmed ourstrong support for India's "Act East" policy and for your country toplay a more active role in the maintenance of peace, stability and prosperityin the region and the world.

ASEAN countries and India share many similarities in culture, history andstrategic interests. Both sides need to strengthen and deepen the StrategicPartnership, promote economic, trade and investment cooperation development,increase cooperation on land, air, maritime and digital connectivity, andpromote cultural and people-to-people exchange.

The implementation of the "Act East" Policy will help deepen theASEAN - India Strategic Partnership and fulfill the practicalinterests of both sides. It will also promote the establishment of asustainable and inclusive regional architecture based on international law,thus contributing to an environment of peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment. Vietnam and ASEAN will work closely with India in all areas torealize our common goals of a bright future for the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”-VNA