Vietnam and India have signed two fresh memoranda of understanding (MoU)
on information technology (IT), in a move hailed by Indian Minister of
Communications and IT Kapil Sibal as a huge step forwards in bilateral
cooperation.
The first MoU was agreed between Vietnam’s
Authority of Radio Frequency Management and India’s Wireless Planning
and Coordination Wing. The second was inked by the Vietnam
Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India (TRAI). Both agreements were sealed during a visit to India by
Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son.
During talks with Son in New Delhi on July 4, Sibal described
Vietnam as one of India’s most important partners in Southeast Asia.
He praised Vietnam for the rapid development of its own IT sector and
suggested that the country should establish more joint-ventures with
India. He suggested that network security and space technology are
promising fields for bilateral partnership.
Minister Son said
his visit aims to effectively realise agreements reached during past
visits by the two nations’ leaders, contributing to further enhancing
the Vietnam-India strategic partnership which was established in 2007.
The Vietnamese Government regards developing science-technology
as a national priority as it bids to become a modern-oriented
industrialised nation by 2020, he said.
Son expressed his hope
that Vietnam can increase IT cooperation with India and learn from its
vast experience in this field.
He stressed that Vietnam stands
ready to bridge India with other Southeast Asian markets, and as well
as with the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Concluding the talks,
the two sides proposed establishing a joint working group with three
members from each country representing the postal, telecommunications
and IT sectors.
Earlier on July 3, Son met with leaders of
Tata Consultancy Services and the Centre for Development of Advanced
Computing (C-DAC).
He suggested C-DAC help Vietnamese
universities and research institutes with science-technology research,
especially applied sciences and information safety, as well as IT human
resources development through training in both nations.-VNA