Vietnam is attractive to Indian businesses and tourists.

Along with the solemn welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, the talks between the Vietnamese and Indian Prime Ministers yielded many important results. At the press conference co-chaired by the two Prime Ministers, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that this represents a higher level of political and strategic trust in cooperation, including increased annual exchanges and contacts between the two countries, and comprehensive promotion of cooperation in 11 areas. Vietnam is an important partner in the Eastern Action Strategy; defense and security cooperation is broader and deeper; the vision and actions for economic , trade, and investment cooperation are more substantive and effective, aiming to double bilateral trade and investment in the next 3-5 years; and cooperation in science and technology and innovation is becoming a stronger driving force. The focus is on promoting scientific research, nuclear energy, rare earth elements, renewable energy, and new technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. Cultural cooperation, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges will become more closely connected; strengthening cultural, civilizational, historical, and religious ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assessed: "Vietnam is an important partner in the Act East strategy. Vietnam and India share a common vision, supporting developmentism, not expansionism. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit has opened a new chapter in the bilateral relationship." Mr. Modi also provided details on future cooperation directions, including the approval of a $300 million credit package for maritime cooperation, enhanced cooperation in counter-terrorism and cybersecurity, and the connection of the central banks of the two countries regarding electronic payments. Focusing on emerging areas such as the green economy, and agreeing to leverage each other's strengths to connect businesses in both countries... In an interview with Tuoi Tre newspaper, Ms. Le Thi Hang Nga - an expert on Indian studies at the Institute of South Asia, West Asia and Africa, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - assessed that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to India took place at an excellent time to create a boost for Vietnam-India relations. This is because India had just held a general election, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government entered its third term. According to Ms. Nga, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the first ASEAN leader invited to India since the Indian Prime Minister began his third term, demonstrating India's respect for Vietnam in its foreign policy. "Economic, trade and investment relations will be further promoted through meetings with Indian business leaders," Ms. Nga assessed. Mr. Indronil Sengupta, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (InCham), said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit has created high expectations for strengthening cooperation and promoting investment and trade between Vietnam and India. "We look forward to some commitments aimed at improving the legal framework and reducing obstacles, making it easier for businesses to operate and invest," Mr. Sengupta said.

There are still obstacles to be removed.

According to Mr. Sengupta, tourism is poised to become a significant industry, with Vietnam welcoming 231,000 Indian tourists in the first six months of 2024, a 164% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Notably, several Indian billionaires have chosen scenic locations in Vietnam to hold their weddings, further boosting the local economy. However, the InCham chairman believes that to capitalize on these opportunities, several challenges need to be addressed, such as access to market information, policy information, resolving complex investment regulations, legal issues, simplifying administrative procedures, and improving the quality of human resources. Mr. Pham Sanh Chau, General Director of VinFast India, an electric vehicle manufacturing and trading company, said that VinFast started construction of its factory in India last May and expects it to be operational in the first half of 2025. Therefore, Mr. Chau expressed his hope that the Prime Minister's visit will create momentum to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. To benefit from the Indian government's long-term incentives for electric vehicles, Mr. Chau affirmed that he will focus on accelerating the construction of the factory with a phase 1 design capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year to promote green mobility in India and contribute to the Indian government's efforts to popularize electrification. Meanwhile, the leader of the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that both Vietnam and India have high demand for each other's goods. Vietnam can supply India with a wide variety of goods, from agricultural and aquatic products, spices for consumption and export production; machinery and equipment, tools and spare parts, electronic equipment, to consumer products, handicrafts, etc. "Conversely, India is a source of raw materials and components for Vietnam's domestic production industries such as textiles, footwear; pharmaceuticals; components and spare parts; animal feed and raw materials for animal feed production; minerals...", he said.