The Indian media have run articles highlighting Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung’s October 27-28 visit to the country, with optimistic assessments
on the development of bilateral relations.
PTI, UNI, ANI and
Times Now news agencies and prestigious newspapers such as the Hindu,
the Hindustan Times, the Economic Times, the Indian Express, the Times
of India and India Writes mentioned agreements reached by the two
countries’ leaders, especially in the fields of defence and oil and gas.
They also analysed prospects for expanding comprehensive relations between the two sides.
Almost
all newspapers said the Vietnam-India Strategic Relation was stepped up
remarkably after the visit as the two nations agreed to enhance their
links not only in security and defence but also in others related to the
East Sea issue.
They agreed on the importance of ensuring
peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and aviation in the
East Sea , as well as solving all disputes peacefully in line
with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea.
With regard to India’s commitment to
helping Vietnam modernise its security and defence forces, articles
noted that this is a clear and determined move of India to challenge
power-displaying actions in the region, especially in the East Sea.
According
to the Hindustan Times, India and Vietnam have enjoyed a
time-honoured relationship and their Strategic Partnership has seen
practical developments. At present, India wants to diversify its
investment in Vietnam and discussed with the Southeast Asian nation on
the possible establishment of trilateral strategic relations with
Japan .
PM Dung’s visit ended with fruitful results, said an
article published on India Writes on October 30. After his talks with
the Vietnamese leader, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed that
his government will soon “activate” a credit of 100 million USD for
Vietnam to purchase four Indian naval patrol ships in order to
safeguard its sovereignty in the East Sea .
Meanwhile, the
Indian Express described PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit as a new progress in
the bilateral ties, marked by the signing of a cooperation agreement
between India ’s ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group
(PetroVietnam) on oil and gas exploration and exploitation at
sea.
Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in New Delhi
on October 31, Prof. S.D Muni from India ’s Institute for
Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) commented that the visit increased
mutual understanding and upgraded bilateral cooperation in many fields,
particularly defence and security.
Collaboration between the
two countries will further expand next year when Vietnam serves as a
coordinator for ASEAN-India relations, he noted.-VNA