HANOI: Vietnam and India hold great potential for cooperation in establishing supply chains following Covid-19, which has seriously affected both economies over the past two years due to regional and global disruptions, according to Indian analysts.
India is trying to establish new supply chains to overcome the consequences of Covid-19 and Vietnam is considered a partner of potential, said Sanjaya Baru, former secretary-general of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
According to the Centre for the World Trade Organisation and International Trade at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam is an attractive market due to being a signatory to a number of free trade agreements.
“India and Vietnam can work together on establishing new supply chains so that Indian exports to South-East Asia and East Asia can be enhanced through joint ventures,” Baru said.
At the Vietnam-India Business Forum in New Delhi last December, the two countries signed 12 cooperation agreements in various fields, including human resources training in information technology, oil and gas processing and energy, and trade and investment promotion activities.
Meanwhile, Jagannath Panda, head of the Stockholm centre for South Asian and Indo-Pacific affairs, described Vietnam as an important country in South-East Asian and Indian supply chain networks.
He lauded Vietnam-India relations, which have been progressing well and developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017.
A turning point in relations was the initiation of India’s Look East policy in 1991, aiming to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with South-East Asian countries, according to Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies under the National University of Singapore.
The success of the Look East policy encouraged India to make it more action-oriented, resulting in India’s Act East policy, which was announced in 2014. The policies have made India much more outward looking, Palit said. — Viet Nam News/ANN
