Indian PM says Vietnam trade "critical" to look east policy
HANOI -
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for a massive expansion of trade with Vietnam Tuesday saying it was a
"critical" part of New Delhi's policy of boosting its ties with southeast Asia.
Vajpayee hailed the signing of a string of new business deals between Indian and Vietnamese firms worth several hundred
million dollars, but complained trade between the two countries was still no match for their close diplomatic ties.
"Closer economic cooperation with Vietnam is a critical element in India's plans to forge stronger ties with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations," he told a joint meeting of Indian and Vietnamese chambers of commerce.
"It is pivotal to our Look East policy."
"No doubt our trade relations are growing steadily, but they are nowhere near their true potential."
Vajpayee joined a string of Vietnamese government ministers in witnessing the signing of the business deals.
India's largest pharmaceuticals firm, Rambaxy Laboratories Ltd, signed a deal to set up a 10 million dollar drugs plant in the
commercial capital of Ho Chi Minh City while the huge Tata conglomerate signed a deal for the export of 300 bus chassis, its
first ever here.
India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Commission, which is already present here as part of a consortium with BP and
Norway's Statoil, signed a 238 million dollar joint venture with Vietnam's Petroleum Investment and Development Company.
"This will be the largest investment by the government of India outside the borders of India," said the secretary general of the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Amit Mitra.
Vajpayee said the Vietnamese government's determination to press ahead with economic reforms and the two governments'
common goal of doubling their gross domestic product over the next decade would open up new opportunities.
"The process of economic reform now makes it possible to explore exciting new avenues of doing business with each other," he
said.
He said India was ready to share the expertise it had acquired through its own economic reforms and provide technical advice
hitherto largely furnished by the key international lending institutions and former foe, the United States.
"We are ... ready to share experience in all aspects of economic liberalisation, be it computerisation of the monetary and
banking sector or promotion of e-commerce, modernization of stock and securities exchanges or framing of legal and
regulatory systems."
Vajpayee said India was also keen to meet Vietnam's higher education needs to spare the "exorbitant cost" of the Western
universities currently favoured by Vietnamese students.
He said the two countries were perfectly matched to boost economic cooperation as both were net exporters of some of the
other's key imports.
India imported Vietnamese exports of crude oil, coal, tin and pulses, while Vietnam imported pharmaceuticals, chemicals,
textiles, steel and machinery from India.
Vajpayee also called on Vietnam to take greater advantage of India's huge experience in developing transport, power and
telecommunications infrastructure.
"The government of India and our banks would be ready to assist with the requisite capital," he said.
Indian business leaders said the boost to trade urged by the prime minister would pave the way for the two countries to jointly
engage the huge and growing market provided by ASEAN states.
India and Vietnam could easily double the level of their bilateral trade over the next two years and boost it to "perhaps a billion"
dollars by the end of the decade, said FICCI president Chirayu Amin.
"We have tremendous potential to penetrate into each other's markets and jointly penetrate the ASEAN market as well."
Vajpayee was due to wrap up his meetings with Vietnamese leaders later Tuesday before heading to the biggest ASEAN state,
Indonesia, Wednesday for the first visit there by an Indian leader in 14 years.
Agence France Presse - January 9, 2001.
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